Sights Set on the Sky
by CSpacian
Summary: Monkey D. Luffy has found the One Piece and had been executed shortly after that. He tried to hide the One Piece to inspire the next wave, but after 50 years and no one finding it the fire of pirate's dream has almost died is this the last leg of the Pirate Age? Can a Skypiean and his crew re-ignite the fire of dreams? Or is this the end of all pirates? OCs accepted.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: Oda owns One Piece...but I own a laptop and at least half a brain...so let the fanfiction commence!

**Chapter 1: An Average Day**

It was close to noon on a frankly average Sunday afternoon. However, the word average is best put down as a 'relatively' average day up here. It was in God's Land, Skypiea! Forget about the troubles of the Blue Sea people, pirates rarely traveled up here due to the risks involved, the Marines let the people up here do whatever they wanted as long as they were semi-governed, and even the Slave Traders saw it as too much of a hassle when Mermaids sold for more and were more accessible, up here the people of Skypiea had their own troubles. And they had a name for that trouble, James Foreman.

"Woo-hoo!" screamed a young brown-haired boy as he blew through the small town. He was wearing a very loose and heavy brown jacket that was probably one size too big, but he didn't seem to mind. As a matter of fact as it fluttered in the wind as he raced through the town the unmistakable look of joy was spread across his face. Beneath the obviously too large jacket is a plain white T-shirt and due to its sagging length his blue jeans could also be considered beneath it. He wore large heavy boots, however, none of this was the most interesting thing about him. It was a large silver almost three inch thick surfboard. The center of the surfboard had a small hole in it that was two inches deep and had three larger circular shells in it, they were called Jet Dials. They shot a large amount of wind out of them and due to the current make-up he had, they even managed to lift him and his surfboard into the air, effectively giving him a hover-board. And with that hover-board he was famous for terrorizing the town. Perhaps terrorizing was a bit too strong of a word, but whenever the White Berets came to this island there was always one name that was certain to be on their list.

"JAMES FOREMAN!" shouted one of the White Berets as he came pounding on the door. He was at the Dial store, one of the many store fronts that James often came to and bought stuff in using the money he got from questionable sources. The White Beret sighed, James was just one of those kids, he grew up here in Skypiea like everyone else, but something was always going wrong with him. He got F's in the classes he did attend and yet he easily managed to build a hover-board. He was always goofing off and getting into trouble and yet he rarely hurt anyone. He was a good kid, or so the White Beret wanted to believe, but sadly as soon as that thought managed to plant its root in its head, James showed up. Or at least he believed it was James...he couldn't quite see anything on account of having a hover-board slammed into his face. The White Beret was sent flying back, a stream of blood pouring out of his face as James turned around flashing a peace sign to him before focusing on the task at hand of driving his hover-board through town for another run.

"THAT DAMN JERK!" shouted the White Beret, picking up a crossbow and taking aim. He huffed for a second before lowering it to his side. "Damn it, kid...I'm not here to arrest you, I just need to bring you in for questioning," he muttered beneath his breath, ashamed that the kid managed to once again get the better of him.

"Questioning for what?" asked the store owner as he poked his head out of the store. He was bald and had a bit of a wide red nose. The White Beret turned and looked at him, but let out a huff as if signaling that the news wasn't for citizen's ears. The store owner quickly swatted him upside the head, but the White Beret didn't even budge from the blow. "Listen that kid is in my store so often that he's practically family to me." The White Beret kept quiet. "Fine, the next time I see I'll ask him whatever this is that you want to ask him, deal?" the White Beret looked at him questioning. "Face it," continued the store owner, "if that kid doesn't want you to catch him, you can't catch him. With that board of his...the people of this town call him..."

James rocketed over the short cliff, landing on the sea clouds and accelerating over them. He leaned down, easily snatching a small fish out of the water and throwing it onto a nearby fishing boat, who immediately waved at him with a happy smile. Jame eagerly returned the smile and wave, continuing to accelerate over the clouds, eager to break his latest speed records which it looked like he may do any moment now. Suddenly James hit the one piece of Verth around, God's Land. He went straight up, traveling completely vertically through the air. "Heaven's Hurricane."

The White Beret sighed and nodded, "we got unsettling reports about some slave traders in the recent vicinity." The store owner shivered. Skypieans weren't as popular as mermaids down on the earth below them, so for the most part nobody bothered them. Slave traders also tended to be cowards and not willing to risk their necks by traveling all the way up here to get to them. "We know James tends to go to God's Land and he spends a lot of time in the slums, we were hoping he heard something about these slave traders."

"I'll warn him about the slave traders for ye," hacked the old store owner.

"What? No, ask him about them for me, don't just warn him!"

"You can't hide it from me, White Beret, you like that young boy, don't you?" asked the store owner as he turned around and returned to his shop. The White Beret looked uncomfortable for a few seconds before sighing. "I'm not going to fault you," he laughed once more as he began tending to the Dials, picking up one of the Flame Dials and beginning to polish them off. He lifted them up and looked at them against the light, "true, he may be rough and unpolished, but I'm fairly certain anyone can tell you the truth. He's a diamond if I ever saw one." The White Beret nodded, he was hoping one of these days he could talk James into joining the White Berets. However, the more he looked at it the more James seemed like a free spirit than a White Beret. Physically speaking James wasn't the strongest man up here, but in terms of intelligence, cunning, and techniques he was unrivaled. James would be best categorized as...a genius.

"I FORGOT TO INSTALL THE BRAKES!" screamed James as he jetted forward towards the island. The problem with hover-boards was that they tended to float off of the ground and as a result there was little to no friction...which meant he couldn't just lock down the wheels or anything cause there was none...turning off the Jet Dials would only cause him to fall and crash. And just like he predicted...he crashed...into a tree...again. "Trees...nature's emergency brakes," he whispered quietly as he slumped down.

He shook his head and tried to clear it...he grabbed onto the now off hover-board and tucked it under his arm. It looked like there were still a few bugs to be worked out. Oh, well, it got him to where he wanted and...with a quick check to his watch (a fabulous Blue Seas invention) he made it here in record time. He pumped his fist silently, proud of his small victory. It was silent because he wasn't supposed to be here. Skypieans were not allowed on God's Land during regular hours. They were only allowed during special festivals and weekends. All the other times it was designated as Shadorian lands...apparently such an agreement was only decided on due to some intervention by some Blue Sea People awhile back. However, that didn't matter to James...he wasn't here to steal gold or Verth or anything. He just wanted to talk to one of the Shandorians.

"You're still an idiot, you know?" asked a young woman as she came around the corner. She was a little bit shorter than James and she was dressed in furs. They were wrapped around her chest, but they revealed her mid-section. She also wore a fur skirt and boots. She had long black hair that stretched down to her waist, but it was up in a ponytail right now so it was raised a little higher. "Whenever there is a loud noise on this island you are behind it." She looked over at the tree. "Forgot to install the brakes again, huh?"

"Eh, what can I say," asked James as he laughed it off, "slowing down is for losers. Winners just get faster." The girl shook her head, obviously unhappy with his stupidly simple response. She sighed and shrugged it off. "Anyways, what did the Knock-Up Stream bring this time?"

The kid was obsessed with anything he could get from the Blue Seas or anything new in general. She shrugged it off and waved for him to follow her. "Sadly we didn't get anything too interested like the guns from the last time." Despite that she knew that the Shandorian elders wouldn't let them have the guns anyways, especially James who would probably accidentally shoot someone trying to take it apart. "No just a bunch of your average run-of-the-mill materials." She said as she took him to the small vault and opened it up. "See, clothes, books, teddy bears, nothing new." James had to admit that she was pretty much right, there was nothing special amongst these things. He picked it up and shuffled through the trash heap. Suddenly he stopped, pulling something out of it.

"How do I look?" he asked turning around and showing her. It was a straw hat with a red band running around it. She laughed at him and shook her head. "Well, I'm keeping it anyways," he said taking it off and blowing on it to clear it of the dust. "Wait a second," he said leaning forward another few inches and pulling some more of the trash away. "What's this?" he asked pulling a small black box out of the mess. The girl cocked her head and leaned in closer too. "This is new."

"Yeah," she said tapping her chin, trying to remember it, "but it wasn't here this morning." James flipped the box around until he saw a series of blinking red numbers. It was currently on 30 and it was steadily going down. It also emitted an annoying beeping noise. "I wonder what it is," she asked leaning in and growing closer. "It looks like its counting down to something," she said quietly. James nodded, also putting two and two together. "Something is definitely up. I wonder if its anything special." The countdown was soon at 10. "Eh, just ditch it. It doesn't look like anything special other than the numbers."

James flipped it over, checking out the remaining sides, hoping to see something of note, but when he didn't he threw it over his shoulder. It was at four and the beeping seemed even more frantic. "I guess you're right...I guess I'll just make do with this new hat." Suddenly there was a flash of white light emanating from the black box. James turned his head to the side and looked over it. Out of nowhere an incredible burst of flames and gunpowder covered the entire room. The two of them were forced out of room as the entire house exploded. James hit the ground horribly hard and soon the girl followed him.

"What the hell!" screamed James as his vision slowly started to black out. He saw some sinister silhouettes creep up on him. He could barely make out what they were saying however he was fairly certain that it was something about...a Black Market?

**A Slave Trader**

Okay, I got about 20 chapters of this thing written figured I'd finally post it. First off, let me say this. Yes, it is a bit of a slow start. No mention of One Piece, no OCs, however, I do promise you things will pick up. The first OC appears in Chapter 12 (let me remind you I wrote a lot of this prior to deciding to upload it and getting OCs). The first arc begins around Chapter 7, the second Chapter 13, and so on and so forth. I place to upload this quickly as I got enough backlog to sustain that. Form on profile page.

Those who know me know I got a story that's 190 chapters long that's still ongoing and two other ones, so you can count on this one continuing and getting better. But I have other duties. Other then that I promise to take you all for a high action thrill ride filled with suspense, laughter, maybe some death, and a whole lot of corruption! So, get on the edge of your seat and hold on tight!


	2. Chapter 2 The Slave Trader

**The 'Slave Trader'**

James stirred the slowest. He slowly lifted his body off of the floor, he glanced up at the wall, but there was a row of large iron poles surrounding him on all four sides. "What the hell?" he asked as he slowly stood up. He shook his head, but immediately stopped as an incredible surge of pain shot through him again. "Crap...who the hell hit me this time?" he asked as he walked forward. He felt the floor rock beneath his feet. "What, the hell!" he shouted nearly jumping up off of the floor.

"Hey, bro, the other guy woke up," shouted a short stout man. James looked out and looked the small man up and down. He was probably only about three and a half feet tall...and about four feet wide. He was literally built like a brick. He walked up to the jail cell and tapped on one of the iron wall. He was holding a small iron stick, but there seemed to be two prongs on the end. "Back up," he said, his voice dark and deep. James looked at him...why the hell should he care? Where the hell was he? "I said back up!" shouted the stout man as he jabbed the pronged stick in between the poles. Electricity leapt off of him, throwing James back into the wall on the opposite side of the wall. "Its a cattle prod," muttered the stout man as he turned around. "Only possibly by merging the Shock Dials from Skypiea and the iron from the Blue Seas...I was told not to harm the merchandise...luckily this thing does leave too bad of wounds...especially not on the thick skin of men. Now I could use this on the woman we got, but..." The stout man was suddenly dragged back to the cell as James grabbed a hold of his collar and glared at him.

"What about a woman?" shouted James before receiving another horrible electric shock from the cattle prod. "Shit...where is she? Where is my friend?"

"Eh, somewhere on the ship," muttered the man with a carefree shrug. "Although once we get back down the Blue Seas, she's going straight to the interrogation chamber, shame as she is actually kind of cute. Its a shame they'd probably disfigure her with their rough play."

"What do you mean interrogate?"

"Man, you Skypieans must have it easy," he muttered with a slight chuckle to it. "Interrogate as in torture?" James showed a look of completely and total lack of knowledge...he supposed this was why he should go to school. He knew how to work with Dials, but all the other stuff you learned in school was boring as crap. "You still don't get it, do you, dense boy? We re giving here off to the World Government, where they can inflict bodily or mental harm to her to obtain information..geeze, and people call me stupi-OW!" he looked down at his hand to see James' teeth latched onto it. "DON'T BITE ME!" he shouted, giving James another whack with his cattle prod. "Damn, idiot," he muttered as he moved to the side and sat down. "Brother, where are you, I'm tired of waiting for you!"

"I'm here, I'm here," boasted a much larger man who easily topped the scales a six feet tall and was stacked like a brick house. He had wide shoulders and two long thick arms that ended in boxing gloves. He was currently shirtless, but had the decency to wear pants at least. But he did wear one other article of clothing...black panties...on his had. "That woman we just got is feisty...I was just in the process of beginning the process when you calle-OW!" Once again James had latched onto his hand with his jaw. The stout man once again rushed in and whacked him with his cattle prod.

"Don't bite big brother Dukoru!"

"Yeah!" shouted the big man as he sat down and reached into his pocket, pulling out a small notepad. "Let's see, the World Government is willing to pay 25 million for a Skypiean male...not a whole lot, but it makes no sense to throw him back now. Go get some men around and see if we can't make him more presentable...maybe they can get some hints about 'it' from him, huh?" The stout man nodded and the two of them laughed as they walked down the path. "By the way, little brother Bukoru, is your cattle prod out of batteries or something it didn't shock him the last time you hit him."

"Thwa ha ha ha! You can't be serious," laughed the little brother, "Shock Dials have enough energy to last years there's no way I could use this one up in a week."

"Oh, Wha ha ha!" laughed Dukoru as the two of them continued to walk away from the cage, "I'm sorry I just thought that since it didn't shock him it must've died! I guess I should've thought it through, huh? Well, if it didn't die due to lack of juice why did it die?"

"Thwa ha ha ha! The Shock Dial must've came out or something," continued Bukoru, "that's the only reason I can think of."

"Yeah, or maybe the punk kid stole it from you when you were hitting him with it! Wha ha ha...ha...ha..." it seemed to finally register with Dukoru that he was closer than he thought or wanted to think. "Crap."

There was a loud explosion behind them, forcing the two of them to spin around on their heels and charge back just in time to see James rushing up the steps and out of the prison hold. "WHA-!" shouted Dukoru as he rushed forward, "alert all the other men on this ship, he's probably going to go rescue his friend and possibly get his Dials back!"

"Okay, where did you put them so I can go guard the girl," shouted Bukoru.

"I'm guarding the girl you go guard the Dials, they are on the second floor in the farthest room from the front of the ship. The girl is in the captain's quarters! Or better known as my quarters! You aren't allowed in it!" shouted Dukoru as he suddenly continued up going onto the next floor while Bukoru whimpered and began to trudge his way down the line to where the Dials were being kept...just once he wanted to be with the girl. Suddenly Bukoru was thrown forwards by a solid iron pole blowing into the back of his head, knocking him out.

"Thanks for telling me how to make a cattle prod, but a regular iron pole works just as well," laughed James as he appeared from around a corner. He only had a Shock Dial and an iron pole to his name right now, but thanks to the two brothers talking to each other (very loudly he might add) he knew where to find the rest of his Dials. He rushed down the hall hoping to find that his hover-board was still intact. He found the room, they said it was the furthest from the front of ship and he went as far as he could in the direction Bukorou was heading, so he should be in the right location. He took aim with Shock Dial and blew another hole into it. Lo' and behold his bag and board! James jetted forward, scouring through the bag.

His face fell a little as he checked its contents. He was ordinarily fairly organized. He usually kept Impact Dials in the front, Breath Dials and Jet Dials on the side, Heat and Flame on the other side, with the rest of Dials following under miscellaneous locations, however, it seemed like the people who had kidnapped him had rather just shook the bag and made one big messy pile in the center of the bag. People like them never understood the hard work people like him put into organization. He shook his head, it didn't matter. He would just have to handle it again at a later date. Right now he had to save his friend. He threw the bag onto his shoulder, hopped onto his hover-board and jetted off. The first group of pirates had caught up to him, apparently being attracted to the loud sound of him bursting through the door. James smiled, flipping a Dial into the air and holding it longways.

"**Blaze Blade!" **he shouted as the flames leapt out of the Dial and screeched through the air, threatening to roast them alive if they stayed in his way. The pirates leapt to the side, several of them crashing into walls as they tried to avoid the jettisoning flames. James turned the corner, tightly, accelerating even as he climbed the steps. At the top he was confronted by yet another wave of annoying pirates, but lucky for him he had another weapon perfectly suited to take them down. "**Flash!" **James revealed one of the lesser used Dials a Flash Dial, capable of releasing a sudden burst of light it blinded the pirates for a split second, however, that was all he needed to ram his board into their faces and knock them all back. He hit the ground again, turning around with ease. The captain's quarters...the captain's quarters...he remembered they were often located near the helm of the ship. However, it had probably been about two or three years since he actually attended a ship-building class. Oh, well, when you are out of ideas, gamble...that was the motto of all the friendly gamblers he ever met. He quick switched Dials once again. The other motto of all the friendly gamblers was 'go big or go home.'

"**IMPACT!" **shouted James as he released a horrible burst of pure power into the door blowing it off of its hinges and through the room. He was quickly rewarded for his efforts by a brief look of his friend, she was stretched out and up against the wall in plain sight, she was bound to the wall by a series of chains, but James had Axe Dials that would make quick work of the chains. He was however, a little bit too slow to think about why she had been put exactly there where she was the first thing you saw when you came in...or why she had a piece of tape covering her mouth preventing her from screaming and warning him. Before either of these questions popped into his head, he was met with a massive slamming forearm into his abdomen, forcing him back and sending him fling back down the hallway and off of his trusty hover-board. The bigger one of the two brothers, Dukoru stepped out from the shadows and into the hallway, using his massive bulk to block the door.

"Look I'm no stranger to barging into someone else's ship to try and rescue a friend...well, actually I am in my opinion the only person worth saving is yourself, but I've foiled people like you many of times...as a matter of fact I foiled so many of people like you, that I'm bored of it, so do yourself a favor and just run for the hills!" he shouted as a long chain slid out of his hand like a snack. He snapped it against the floor, leaving a small dent in it to show off his power. "Oh, while I'm at it, I should warn you, you've never faced a man like me before. Let's go, **Chaining FRENZY!" **He used his chains, sending out a volley of quick, powerful and a nearly relentless torrent of quick whipping blows. James doe beneath them, quickly grabbing a hold of his hover-board and jetting towards Dokuro. James admitted it, even with his superior speed thanks to his board he couldn't avoid all of the attacks, but luckily he had a couple of Impact Dials ready to absorb the near glancing blows. And it was only a matter of time until he was finally within punching range!

James leapt off of his hover-board, dropping his bag to the floor and pivoting around. He fired one single punch with all of his strength behind it. He hit Dokuro as hard as he could all of his power emptied out into Dokuro's left cheek. Dokuro's head was smacked to the side...just moments before he turned around, bringing his chains with him and smashing it into James' side, bringing the wild Skypiean down tot he ground.

"What the fuck was that?" swore Dokuro loudly with a laughter to his voice, "that had to be like the weakest punch I ever took! I sincerely hope you've got something else up your sleeve to make up for that! I was seriously beginning to worry there for a second. I sold a five-year-old girl who had a harder punch than you!"

Crap...right...in terms of physical strength James was easily below average...the only thing he could do is throw his arms up in front of his face as Dukoru whipped his incredible mass of iron chains around and into him again, throwing James backwards and into another wall.

**Dukoru**

Ah...crap...should've picked a better time to post. I got finals coming up...I was planning on updating Friday...but who knows if I'll have time due to studying! Plus...I didn't get as many reviews as I was hoping for...nor did I get any Ocs...maybe its because I didn't point out that the form is on my profile page? Oh, well, its there! Go look for it! Or maybe I should slow the updates to give people more time to read and review? Eh...I'll think about it next time.

Notes! 1) For those of you who actually know about it, but the Shock Dials should be called Thunder Dials according to a video game...but I don't consider video games canon, so I'm keeping it Shock Dial as it sounds cooler and before I looked it up that's what I called them. 2) What do you all think about a James' Toolbox section of the author's note? Just where I basically describe what each one of his Dials and other items do? I realize most of them are fairly intuitive, but I was just thinking about it. Or maybe an SBS every five chapters (though I rarely get questions). 3) I had some other stuff to discuss, but looks like I don't really quite have room (who wants to hear me talk for so long), maybe next time! SEE YA!

Also, since I forgot it in the first chapter (I'll edit it later). Disclaimer: I do not own One Piece...yet. I just added gain ownership of One Piece to my bucket list.

EDIT: The crew currently has the following positions filled: Navigator, Thief, and Captain (anything else including First Mate is still technically open (swordsman and First Mate are both technically occupied, but I'm none to picky about those and will accept a new character to fill those roles).


	3. Chapter 3 Dukoru

**Chapter 3: Dukoru**

"Come out, come out wherever you are!" commanded Dukoru as he spun around smashing his long chains into the wall, blasting a large hole into it. He took a few steps forward and peered through it. He was a master fighter and was definitely someone who had become accustomed to search and destroy tactics. He was quite used to it as the slaves continually tried to run away, it was always pointless, he always found them...and when he did he put them through the ringer. He smirked as he heard the faintest of sounds behind him. "Don't even think about getting the drop on me, boy! I am Dukoru!" he shouted, pivoting around and smashing his long chains into the wall behind him, immediately uncovering James' hiding spot. James panicked throwing a small single Dial at Dukoru, but Dukoru easily dodged it with a simple weaving of his head, "that is boy, resorting to throwing weak Dials like that around...do you smell gas?" he asked as he loudly sniffed the air.

"**Burn!" **shouted James as he took out a Flame Dial and stuck it into the gas trail the earlier thrown Breath Dial had created. The gas trail was ignited sending a scorching explosion down its long body and right at Dukoru. Dukoru was thrown backwards, a nice scorch mark now adorning his left cheek. "And **Cloud Coffin!" **shouted James as he rushed Dukoru revealing his Milky Dial, James threw the Milky Dial into Dukoru's face and released a large puff of clouds that swallowed the pirate captain's entire head. James smiled as he quickly ducked beneath a few random punches as the clouds blocked Dukoru's eye sight. James ducked behind another corner...

Cloud Coffin definitely wouldn't last more then a few seconds it was a smoke screen and that was about it. It had a few other differences, but none of them were really important at this point. He highly doubted the density would really matter. He had a few other tricks under his belt and he would have to rely on those to take down this man. Then again he did have an Impact Dial...He had fired a cannon at it earlier, so it had that stored into it. A burst with the strength of a cannon ball so it would make a big difference, but then again as he thought about it...it would only be one shot wouldn't it? If he released it too earlier or even missed with it he would lose his greatest attack. He needed a better weapon.

Flame, Flash, Tone, Milky, Shock, Water...those were his six best Dials at this point. Then again would he really stand a chance with these six? As far as he could tell there were no end to that man's chain and he hadn't had any experience with fighting an opponent who used...what was it called? Iron? That was a rarity up here. Then again that means if he got it...he could sell it for a high price...wouldn't that be nice? He had used up his last gas-based Breath Dial...so combining that with his Flame Dial again was out of the question. Then again a Water Dial and a Shock Dial could result in a devastating attack as well...

Suddenly the heavy iron chain came back around, wrapping itself tightly around James' arm...James only had enough time for one thought...it was very cold. James was yanked into the air, dragged back to Dukoru. Dukoru quickly wrapped the leftover chains around his fist. He fired a quick, powerful punch at him. Slamming his fist heavily into James' body, sending him spinning around and flipping around and knocking the Skypiean to the ground. "Weak," muttered Dukoru, "if your body is as weak as your punches are...you're probably dead...oh, well, you wouldn't sell for too much anyways." A bright burst of light came up from the ground, blinding Dukoru instantly. The pirate captain grunted, wheeling backwards, stumbling for a few seconds and rubbing his eyes...giving James just enough time to disappear.

"Ha! Weak? Funny, I was about to call you the same thing!" laughed James loudly, "I mean seriously, that punch was so light I met feathers heavier than it!"

"Heh, even if I can't see if you keep talking like that, I can still find out your location!" Dukoru's chains came screeching out, covering the ground like a snake, smashing through the ground all the way up and into the wall, it took him a few seconds, but soon enough Dukoru found James' arm and latched onto it, yanking it back.

"Ha! Weak? Funny, I was about to call you same thing!" Dukoru paused for a second...why did he repeat that. Slowly, his vision came back. He pulled it back to find a small branch with a seashell attached to it. Dukoru remembered this! It was a Tone dial they were famous even in the Blue Sea for being able to hold noises! Wait...Dukoru paused there was another light blue seashell on here...he lifted it up to his face...was this a Tone Dial as well? It didn't look like one. He looked at it questioningly trying to put together what it was before the small seashell let loose a jettison of water straight at his face, spraying him heavily.

"YOU DAMN PUNK!" shouted Dukoru throwing the stick down to the ground. "I can't believe you are like this! I mean me and you are enemies! Come out and fight me! I promise you, I'll only beat you to an inch within your life! So, come on out and fight with me!"

"HA HA, nope." Dukoru immediately screamed again. There were a few drips of water on the ground. Dukoru walked forward, looking for his opponent. He had no interest in the boy, like he said the man wasn't worth anything, but he still needed to find as the last thing he wanted to do was put up with him throughout the rest of the journey...he was like a cockroach...completely harmless, but annoying! Dokuro growled as he flipped another large crate over. Dukoru let out an inarticulate roar, he wanted nothing more than to pound his opponent into the ground...and he'd do just that...as soon as he found him.

"_Okay, James calm down," _he thought as he did another quick search of his Dials...he had just lost his Breath and Water Dials, so he would have to make do with the other four...plus his Impact Dial. The Shock and Impact Dials were his best bet...but he needed a perfect opening to use either one of them. Chances are Dukoru would be trying to kill James so the instant he revealed himself, Dukoru would kill him. So, he needed to create a small opening with his other three, the Flame, Flash, and Milky. Without a second to lose...he needed to move in like that. James produced his Milky Dial...a smokescreen, huh? That's exactly what he needed.

Dukoru chuckled as a large wall of clouds began to appear in front of him. "Fool, clouds really? I know that you are in there, so just show yourself!" Dukoru pulled back, revealing his large chain and stretching it out into the fog, continuously firing a chain of attacks. "As long as I don't step into it, there's no way for you to ambush me, that is what you were planning, isn't it?" Dukoru kept up the attacks, but for some reason there were no attacks coming back, but he didn't feel any kind of resistance...where did he go? That blasted smokescreen! Was he dodging all of his attacks or something? "You can't keep this up!" shouted Dukoru producing a second chain and sending a second furious assault into the smoke.

"Huh?" asked Dukoru as he felt something weird, the ground beneath him was weakening...he looked down and saw a small trickle of black smoke going up all around him in a circle. "Wait, don't tell me? The smoke screen was a diversion!" The floor finally gave way. Dokuro was forced down to the ground and sure enough James was waiting there. James jumped up, latching his arms around Dukoru's legs with an evil smile on his face and a Dial in his hand. "Hey, kid, listen I'm not actually a Slave Trader, okay? I'm a Marine, okay? I'm here on an important mission from them, yeah! I'm not supposed to tell you the details, but if you let me go I'll reward you handsomely."

"No, that Dial is actually a Shock Dial, you know, cause earlier I sprayed you with water, but..." James revealed his second hand, pulling it out from behind his back, "this is an Impact Dial. I thought that I figured I'd may as well go easy on you, and not break your ribs...but then when I heard you start groveling I remembered something...I don't like you...so, you're getting both!" James stretched forward, pressing both Dials into his opponent's chest and pressing the button.

(-Later that day-)

"Good job, James!" shouted the White Berets, saluting the little Skypiean, who obviously couldn't get enough of the attention, he laughed loudly and waved back at them as they began to lead the pirates off of the ship. Bukoru was first and soon the lackeys began to follow. James guessed he must've hammered them Dukoru deeper into the ship then he had planned. "I can't believe that you managed to call us from this ship! Wouldn't it have been easier to just sail it back to us?"

"Sorry, don't know how to sail," explained James and the girl nodded. Honestly, aside from Wavers and James' hover-board, neither of them have ever even been over the open seas. They doubted they knew how to work a rowboat. The White Beret sighed and hung his head. "Don't look so disappointed...we still caught them and all that. Hey, dinner is on you! Ha ha ha!" laughed James, looking forward to whatever bounty these guys had on their head.

"This...is my...SHIP!" shouted Dukoru as he exploded from the basement, easily flinging five or six White Berets off of him. "I'm a pirate captain, infamous down in the Blue Seas, I refuse to let some little Skypiean boy, get the better of me!" the White Beret went to draw his sword, but James held out a hand to tell him to stop. "You! You! YOU!"

"See, its always about me, me, me!" laughed James as he stepped forward, ready to face his opponent, "choose to come quietly, or are you going to put up an actual fight this time!"

"I held back before. See truth be told I ate of the Legendary Devil Fruit, the Chein-Chein no mi*! You hear me, boy? That means I can create an infinite amount of chains and control them!" the long iron strings exploded from Dukoru's body. "I'll finish you off!" Five chains came out, striking James in all sort of places. James was thrown back off of the pirates ship and onto the White Beret's ship. The White Beret, drew his sword, but Dukoru easily dispatched him with another heavy handed display of his power. "Don't interfere!" The White Beret was sent spinning, pinned down onto the floor with Dukoru's strength. The girl rushed forward, grabbing a hold of one of the White Beret's swords and stabbing at him, but once more the man's skill was simply too much. A long chain came out of his body and successfully pinned her down. "Thanks for reminding me, once I get back to the Blue Seas, I'm selling you...I just hope they don't mind broken merchandise!"

"GET YOUR HANDS OFF OF HER!" shouted James as he leapt through the air, arming another Impact Dial, but he never got close enough to Dukoru, who smashed his chains into his gut and then wrapped them around him, successfully sealing off all forms of movement.

"Speaking of the Blue Seas," Dukoru said as he lifted James up, completely bound by at least three layers of heavy iron chains. "I wonder if I'll see you there...probably not...cause after all its a very long FALL!" Dukoru stepped to the side of the ship and lifted James high into the air, before suddenly snapping his chains down, throwing the young man down and off of the ship and into the water-like clouds. Of course, with the heavy chains binding his arms and legs he couldn't swim at all...and he sunk like hammer.

The sea clouds were only so thick after the initial layer eventually you'd hit the bottom...and pop out the other side...thousands of miles above the Blue Sea.

**Chapter 4: Fallen Angel?**

*Chein-Chein no mi=Chain-Chain Fruit (according to my handy-dandy English to Japanese Dictionary).

Still progressing...like I said I think the first three chapters are more set-up, but its going so here's the chapter! Also James' Toolbox will officially be a thing. I'll give you the lowdown of his Hover-Board. Please note most of this stuff is kind of scientifically based, but all of it is from my imagination since we were never told how Dials work. This is how I consider them to work. Actually...you know, what I'm going to start this next chapter as I don' t really have time to think of how each one works. Have a fun time!


	4. Chapter 4 The Fallen Angel

**Fallen Angel?**

"Yohohoho!" laughed the crew of a large sailing vessel as the it sailed through the wild blue seas. There was a large group of pirates gathered on it. They were having a blast in general and were obviously in the middle of a party. "To imagine one year sailing around the Grand Line and we are finally returning to our home seas! Its been too long! I miss the North Blue so much!" cried one of the pirates as he brought up his red handkerchief up to his face. "I'm so happy I feel like laughing, but I can't but cry! WA! HA ha ha ha! WAAAA! Ha ha ha!"

"I understand your sentiments, but you're ruining the party! We've sailed together for three years so far, don't you understand?" asked a swordsman as he came up behind him and lightly tapped the man upside the head with his sword's hilt. "Don't you understand what this day symbolizes?" he asked as he sat down and crossed his legs, "We've made it all the way around the world, but it is time we settle down and go back home...but I live in the South Blue, you live in the North Blue, the captain hails from the East Blue...as soon as we cross the borders of Grand Line...we're all splitting up and going in different directions. Understand? We'll never see each other again."

"GEEZE! And you said I was ruining the party, listen to you...'we'll never see each other again', geeze, you're bumming me out," moaned the man as he kicked back and lifted his feet up onto the table and basically dumping a barrel of ale into his giant mouth. "We're a crew, no matter what happens we'll always find each other. Ain't that right, captain?"

A large skinny man laughed quietly, "I'm sorry, I wasn't paying attention. I'm too busy eating!" he laughed as he stuffed another giant chicken into his leg and pulling it out, revealing nothing but bones. "But, yeah...we'll probably see each other again, LET'S JUST HOPE ITS NOT IN HELL! KASHIHIHI!" the rest of the crew managed to muster up a short laughter at that. His rather odd sense of humor was one of the things they had grown to love about him. "But seriously you guys don't need to call it an end to your adventure, I'm just quitting cause I kind of want to avoid attention from the World Government right now...trouble and crap is definitely going to be coming after me now...so I want to spend the next two or three years in peaceful happiness."

"What do you mean?" asked the swordsman, "what did you get on that island anyways?" The captain smiled and pulled his hat, a large rimmed cowboy hat, further down onto his head. "You have it locked up in our safe...in all the years, I've known you, you never even put any gold into it. I mean, seriously? What is it?"

"Its a secret...maybe its some what stupid of me to quit being a pirate just to protect something like that, but...I've looked at it and definitely...if it means keeping something like that secret I will definitely sell my life down the river for something like that, but like I said you guys don't have to do it," he said, "don't let something like that, get in your way...why do you think I haven't shown it to any of you guys? Cause I know if you knew of what it was, then you'd definitely choose to quit being pirates alongside me..."

"Don't worry about it captain," muttered the swordsman, "there's no point in being a pirate if we aren't with you!" The rest of the crew, immediately went to cheer along with him. "So, come on, let us see it! Our treasure senses are tingling!" They were all about to set in on the captain, but a loud splash came from behind them, soaking them all! "Its a SEA KING!" shouted the swordsman, Marco, turning around and drawing his sword aiming it at the sea, but to their surprise no giant evil demon of the oceans was leering at them over the railings of their ship. The entire crew crept towards the side of the ship, with small Flash Dial powered Flashlights in their hands...they were lucky they had been to a Sky Island once. They scanned the seas with their narrow light tubes lighting up the nearby waters...suddenly they found it. A floating body, brandished over a small surfboard.

"Where the hell did he come from?" asked the swordsman looking around and trying to scan the skies. "Was he like fired from a catapult or something?" He continued to look around without paying much attention to the fact that someone was floating around in Sea King infested waters.

The other man, the burly crier, the burly shipwright Johnson came up behind him and lightly knocked him on the head. "Who cares where he came from? He could be an enemy, a spy from the World Government! He could've heard us talking about the captain's treasure and decided he wanted to steal it himself!" The entire crew gave him a questioning look, the boy looked no older then seventeen...and he fell from the sky, surely if he wanted to steal their secrets there were safer ways to do it...after all, about half of them were drunk.

"Haul him up!" commanded the captain. Johnson looked at him questioningly as did a lot of the other crew mates as they didn't trust magically falling teenage boys either. "I said haul him up!" The captain boomed! "He's a young'un! We can't just say he's evil without giving him a proper run and possibly a drink, after all, it is a celebration today! Let our enemy's share our booze and perhaps they wouldn't be our enemy any more!" The crew's faces fell...that seemed quite possibly like the WORST idea in the world! None of them wanted to share their booze, but regardless of that fact, they didn't want to betray their captain, so they got to hauling the young man up.

"Hey, hey, he's a Skypiean!" shouted one of the pirates, "Do you think he fell straight from a Sky Island?" Another one quickly slugged his arm.

"Do you even have a brain in that booze addled skull of yours? Nobody could survive that without having their arms ripped to pieces by the impact with the water! He's probably just a slave that tried to escape and nearly drowned. He then bumped up against our ship or something." This seemed to be the most logical explanation that the majority (of the non-drunk off their asses) crew members accepted, except the captain, Marco, and Johnson...whose opinion on the matter was...strange things have happened in the Grand Line.

"Bleurgh!" vomited the young man as he slowly came to and coughed a large chunk of water out of his mouth. "Where the hell is that darn...dirty snake?" he muttered as he slowly opened his eyes and took in what was around him. He slowly began to put together that he was surrounded by pirates. "Okay, more important question...where the hell am I?"

"Grand Line, kiddo!" laughed another older gentleman as he shoved a pitcher of beer at the kid, "don't worry, I mixed some pain-killers into that drink, it'd be the best thing you ever drank!" He said with a wink.

"DON'T DRUG HIM YOU CRAZY OLD COOT!" Johnson and Marco shouted dealing dual swift kicks to the man's abdomen, causing him to keel over. "Ignore him," continued Johnson as Marco took care of the drunk doctor. "He's a good doctor when sober, but when he gets drunk his answer to everything becomes some of the strongest drugs you'll ever take...his first day on the job he gave me some medicine that made me black-out, when I woke up the next day, I was on top of the ship's mast dressed in women's clothing."

"Aye, that was the scariest thing I ever saw," agreed Marco, "anyways, where you're from, kid?"

"Did he say Grand Line?" asked James, rubbing his head...he was fairly certain that pain-killers were an absolute necessity at this point...and booze wouldn't hurt. "I'm sorry, but that's in the Blue Sea...that's impossible." The entire crew looked at each other questioningly. "I'm from Skypiea. Never even set foot down there." The crew all baulked. "I mean, this is just some kind of twisted joke, right?" The crew all looked a little bit uncomfortable. "It is right! I have school tomorrow! My mom's making my favorite dinner tonight!"

"Ooh, what is it?" asked Johnson obviously putting his stomach before James' feeling, which earned him a swift kick from their captain, "sorry, its just we were celebrating...it may be worth a slight detour if it is something good."

"So, kid, you're from the White White Seas, huh?" asked the captain as he wiped a booze mustache off of his lips. "Got a name?"

"The name's James Foreman, gramps! And I'm still in the White White Seas, so don't play dumb with me!" he screeched.

"Poor fool," muttered Marco as he shook his head, "he apparently got some kind of brain damage, cause he sure enough ain't hearing us! You're in the Blue Seas!" Marco screamed as he grabbed a hold of James' head and hauled him to the side of the ship. "Why don't you take a look for yourself!" Marco whipped around, tossing James into the open waters. "That's what you get for insulting our captain!" The rest of the crew look menacingly at Marco, but he just shrugged it off, "damn brats...its people like him that make me never want to have kids...I can't contribute to this downhill society."

"YOU JUST THREW A KID OVERBOARD!" Indeed, perhaps if there was anyone on this ship deserving of a downhill society medal it was Marco at this point.

James sunk a little bit lower than the surface, but he could already tell this was nothing like he had ever experienced before. The cold water freshly tingled his skin, it was completely wet...all over his body. Not a single drop of dry air! It was...odd. The sun wasn't beating down so harshly that it was warm...it was as if everything he ever experienced up on Sky Island didn't apply down here. It was...refreshing...new...exciting! James couldn't believe it...what was this new world like? He wanted to see more of it! James opened his eyes wide open, taking in the water, it stung a bit, but it was worth it to witness all this new stuff. He twisted around, watching as small fish swam beneath him, darting beneath him like small shadows. There were a lot of them and none of them looked like the fish that were up in the sky. He turned around to look in the direction they were coming from and he saw something else that was new to him...and terrifying

"GAOH!" it screamed as the large sea monster opened its jaw and pierced the surface of the water, revealing its purple hide that shone in the moonlight. It had even darker pure blue strips circling its body. It eyes were a bloodshot red and its many jagged teeth were pure white.

"Sea-Sea-Sea KING!" screamed Johnson stumbling backwards and fishing around for his hammer, but the captain stepped forward and pulled his arm out in front of him as if telling him to calm down and take it easy.

"Relax, can't you see its only a small one, probably a baby...I'll handle this one on my own, so just go back to partying and hauling that kiddo up. I'll only take two or three seconds," with those as his final words, the captain jetted forward, his leg strength sending him out like a rocket towards the Sea King. "Alley-oop!" he shouted launching an upwards angled knee strike, which propelled the Sea King into the sky. He then plummeted to the ground, bracing his legs against the water and using its surface tension to create a landing pad, he quickly rocketed back off of it again! The captain twisted around and angled a kick downwards this time, launching a massive kick into the Sea King's back and causing it to drop back into the water with a loud and painful SMACK!

The captain somersaulted back through the air and landed back on the ship just in time to see James be hauled up onto the ship. "So, boy, what are your thoughts on your first ten minutes in the Blue Sea?"

James breathed heavily...his chest still hurt from his fall, but now his heart was beating like eighty times per second! He couldn't believe, he couldn't concentrate, he wasn't sure if he had suffered a concussion and was hallucinating all of this or not? But one word did manage to escape his lips.

"Interesting."

**The Current State of the Era**

Its really interesting listening to music while writing. Like what song would be best for what character. So far, I like Carry on Wayward Son for James. I think it really works well with what I got planned. Anyways! New chapter! James first five minutes on the Blue Sea is him getting attacked by a Sea King. Then the Sea King being beaten up by a a pirate. Also talk about drugs and crossdressing. Yeah, James first five minutes on the Blue Sea is definitely interesting. Anyways, get ready for a bit more interesting build-up next chapter...and then more build-up! AND THEN MORE! AND MORE! So much build-up...

James Tool-Box section below:

**Hover-Board** (or Dial Board): The Hover-Board is generally the size of a regular skateboard except it is about 4 inches thick (making it very bulky in comparison). The extra bulk is to allow the Jet Dials which are embedded in the center to rest comfortably and be completely hidden. There are three of them in there and they create a small (manageable) twister that pushes off of the ground and lifts James up. There are four Breath Dials in the back which are powered by a pedal underneath James' back foot, the harder he presses the faster he goes. Due to the fact that it is not on the ground and that air has very low friction there is no quick way to stop. Even if he lets off of the Breath Dials completely he will keep going forward for a long time unless he hits something (which he usually does). Also due to the fact that is pushes off of the ground. The Hover-Board will fly higher over more solid objects (there is less resistance over water or clouds which causes James to float a little closer to them, however with steel or rock James will be propelled a little higher). The board is big and strong enough to carry two of three people, however, doing so significantly weighs it down and is not suggested.

**Shock Dial** (called Lightning Dials in a few One Piece games): It can absorb and release electric energy. It is normally found forming in thunder clouds so obtaining them is difficult, but rewarding and there is never a shortage of them. They store approximately 50000 Volts (Note: The same as your average dart stun gun). The electricity can travel away from the Dial (making it long-range as well as close-ranged) but this is often very risky as the electricity can take any path it wants and as a result isn't very reliable. Best applied directly to skin of the enemy. Burning and nerve damage are possible. They can be charged in a similar manner to the Impact Dial. They just need to be exposed to electricity.

Next time: Flame and Impact are planned.


	5. Chapter 5 The Current State of the Era

**The Current State of the Era**

"So, pirates, huh?" asked James as he shoveled another mountain of meat his way as he talked with the captain. It was funny had only met two pirates in his lifetime and they were completely different. Dukoru was a man, who didn't care at all for other people and treated them like a crap. He was quick to turn sides and grovel when James appeared to have obtained the upper hand, but this captain didn't even flinch when a giant sea monster rose up in front of him. He kindly smiled at his entire crew and even accepted James into his family without batting an eye, they were even adjusting their course to a path to Skypiea...it was out of their way, but he just laughed and said it was worth it for a friend. "What exactly is a pirate?" Pirates weren't common place in Skypiea and as a result these two were the only ones he ever met.

"It depends on who you ask," explained the captain, "if you ask the Marines, they'd say villain. Even the everyday folk on these islands would probably respond with murderer...but if you ask a pirate, they'd just say...someone who followed their dreams, regardless if it was against the rules." The rest of the crew nodded and raised their glasses, "of course, some of us are murderers and villains...so, you know, pirates are whatever you think they are."

"I'm sorry to say it...while you guys are okay, the other pirate I've met are absolute assholes!" declared James loudly, the crew flinched slightly, but they did know that some pirates out there aren't exactly a glimmering piece of the world.

"Don't be too hard on them," replied Johnson, "being a pirate is hard nowadays...and we all have one man to blame, the last Pirate King, Monkey D. Luffy!" The crew lifted their glasses up again, clinking them loudly. "The One Piece...a grand treasure that spurred many pirates on in the last great pirate age! He found it and he took it! You know, as a pirate you had to respect him and all that, he did what you dreamed off...and when he died, he told the world that he hid the One Piece again to spur on a second age of piracy and dreams! The only problem is...we never found it! That was twenty years ago, pirates, marines, bounty hunters, you name it, we were all searching for it! Such a great treasure disappeared from the world!"

"Is it really his fault that you are all incompetent?" asked James. Johnson did a face fault right to the ground, "besides what makes this One Piece so important? What's in it?"

"We don't know, only the Pirate King has ever laid eyes on it and since like we said nobody seems to be able to find it since Luffy's age, nobody has ever saw it or even knows what it may contain...it may be gold, jewels, Devil Fruits, or even beautiful women!" The crew highly doubted it was beautiful women. "Oh, well, but like I said since it was thought that the One Piece had been lost because of Monkey D. Luffy, naturally fewer people began acting as pirates...but since people still liked the sound of adventuring, the number of Marines went up. And for those who still insisted on being pirates...well, they faced an even worse fate." James perked up at this.

"The Marines really began cracking down on pirates...several new laws came into being. 1) Aiding or abetting a person with a bounty on their head nets you a 1 million belie bounty. 2) Sailing a Jolly Roger like this," said Marco indicating upwards at the flag above their ship, "nets you an instantaneous 5 million beli bounty. 3) Anyone in possession of a Devil Fruit gets a 10 million beli bounty put on your head. So, all-in-all that can quickly add up to 16 million belies...of course, most of them can be undone simply by paying your own bounty and possibly doing something for the World Government and they will issue an immediately retraction of the bounty...but if you can't...oh, well, off with your HEAD!" Marco said drawing his sword across his neck for emphasis.

The rest of the crew burst out into a fit of laughter, "yeah, but we beat them! A whole year sailing around the Grand Line and about 5 years afore that, too!" sputtered one of the pirates, the doctor who had earlier tried to give James alcohol mixed with pain killers. The captain nodded and grinned widely. "Anyways, the matters of pirates ain't your problem. I contacted some old business partners o' mine and asked 'em about the slave trade and any bloke they know named Dukoru. They said they haven't heard from 'im since he went to Skypiea in search of Skypieans...they'll get in contact wit' me as soon as they do though."

James quickly performed a polite bow...he was taught to do that and while he ordinarily wouldn't show anyone any sign of respect...he really did respect these guys. They saved him in a time of need and he would be eternally grateful to them for that. "Anyways, this woman who got kidnapped...did she look good?" Asked the doctor, immediately causing James to kick him harshly in the cheek, but once again James' lack of physical strength proved itself once again to be a hindrance as the man didn't even budge. "Fine, be that way...jus' wanted ta know if she was worth all the trouble."

"She is!" shouted James, "she's saved my life more times than I can count! And she's always helping me out whenever I get trouble and I get in trouble a lot!" The crew nodded, only having known the guy for a day they can already see how he can get into trouble. "Anyways, I really do appreciate your help! I can't believe you pirates have contacts even in the Black Market!"

"BWA HA HA! Its not the Black Market!" muttered the doctor as he spat out into a little golden pan, "its the slave trade." James crossed his arms and looked at him questioningly. Was there a difference? "As much as it makes my skin crawling just saying this and as mad as its going ta make you slave trading ain't illegal. Back in the old days of the real Pirate Era they had the excuse of a Shichibukai demanded it to be so, but now the true colors of the Marines are showing and they aren't pretty." James banged his fist loudly on the table.

"WHAT DO YOU MEAN BY THAT!" he shouted, "what the hell are these Marines? Aren't they supposed to be the upright law enforcing people like the White Berets are back on my island?" The crew all looked away from James not a single one wanting to meet his glance. "Come on!" he declared loudly, "tell me, that those Marines aren't just pushing their own agenda!" It seems like whatever they want to be legal they just make it and whatever they don't want to be legal they say that too! No one should have that kind of authority over how the world is run! Especially when they are this corrupt! I mean all of those fines to prevent piracy and yet they allow slaving to pass right on by! What the hell kind of screwed up system is that?"

The captain sighed, wiping his mouth of alcohol and putting down an empty glass, "its one that works. Basically you place people at the bottom rung of society and threaten everybody else with the chance of winding up down there with them...that's what we pirates are...we pirates are the bottom run. Basically no matter how badly the Marines act the people are kept in lines thinking that they will become either pirates or slaves. Being brandished as one or both of those two basically make everybody look at you different, you become worse and less important than dirt...people can spit at you, rub your face in the dirt, and kick you in the gut without any repercussions. Basically it forces 95% of society into abiding by the law by sacrificing 5%...as far as the Marines are concerned there are no better scenarios."

"That doesn't seem right," muttered James.

"Good, then do something about it!" shouted the captain, "but be warned you'll be going against thousands of highly trained soldiers, hundreds of soldiers capable of killing a man with their bare hands, ten soldiers capable of demolishing an entire island with a flick of their finger...and then a bunch of other people who are just as dangerous." James shrunk backwards at the sound of that, all of them? It didn't seem fair he was one person, one insignificant person. "And behold the second weapon the Marines possess that prevent other people from coming up and rebelling, unity. One person can't make a difference that's the world we leave in...so, the Marines feel safe betraying that 5% knowing the 95% will back them up no matter how twisted they are just because they are in charge."

"Then you should do something!" shouted James, "I mean just start a rebellion you guys are pirates! I saw what you did to that Sea King! You guys could stand a chance to change the world!"

The captain guffawed at this joke. "Us? We're pirates, not heroes. Our goal is just to have a good time if other people want to join us, we'll welcome them, but we're not going to actively revolt against the Marines. Those people are called Revolutionaries." James' eyes lit up at the sound of someone actually fighting back against the oppressive World Government. Of course, the captain had to crush that. "Now, now, don't go getting your hopes up. Ever since the death of Dragon, the Revolutionaries have fallen into anarchy themselves, they can't do much of anything these past few years...they are floundering...and the Marines are growing stronger its obvious whose coming out on top." James' face fell.

"Hey, no need to concern yourself with the problem of us Blue Sea people," laughed Johnson, slapping James on the back. "You just go back on up to Skypiea and live your life! That's the motto of us pirates...live your life to its fullest! Of course, it causes trouble when we do it too much, but you know...we're happy even when we hold back." James nodded, slowly, he wasn't happy with how things sounded, but he supposed they were right. The World Government was keeping its nose out of Skypiea's business, so he was still safe up there...it made him sick that he was fine with all the good people of the Blue Seas being mistreated by the World Government as long as he was safe. Johnson shrugged as he moved over to the side. "Eh, speaking of which it looks like we are almost there, you can see Steam Street from here."

Over the top of the ship you could see the large spiraling cloud formation that touched the ground. Of course, that was only what it looked like. In all reality it was kind of a place where clouds and steam met. It was unknown why, but it was believed that it was above an undersea volcano which constantly released heat. The heat backed the water and made steam, which also raised the pressure of the area allowing the steam to nearly condense in midair and form 'clouds'. Ships could then sail up these clouds when outfitted with a special engine (only sold to Marine or merchant sailing vessels.) Of course, people also sold mini-ships like rowboats or wavers that could sail up these clouds and reach Skypiea in a matter of hours.

However, something very unsettling was soon in the pits of their stomach as they looked on at the sea. A Marine ship was stationed at the bottom of the large 'cloud' spiral, resting on the waters. The crew grimaced and immediately slowed the ship down, approaching the spiral with as much caution as possible. Soon it became obvious that it wasn't just one ship it was damn near well a whole fleet of them!

**What Makes a Good Pirate...**

Sorry, bout not uploading yesterday...horrible final took up more time than expected (but I think I did good). Anyways, here's the next chapter. I finally finished another arc for this story (Whoo) but it is a lot longer than I thought my third(?) arc would be. Anyways, don't forget to send in OCs and review.

Also please note I create the crew as I go. In other words until a character is for sure written into the story I cannot/will not state that they are a member of the crew. It is a decision that happens when it happens...that being said I am liking a lot of the OCs I got. I already think I know which ones I am going to use (but until they appear I cannot say if I will or not) also I can't say anything as I may get another kick-butt character that will replace them.

Finally time for another segment of James' Tool Box! Today it will be James' two most offensively orientated Dials. The Flame and the Impact Dial.

Flame Dial: Just like in actual One Piece. This shoots fire. It is one of James' go-to Dials because of how powerful it is and that it can be used multiple times (unlike the Impact). It is filled with a form of grease that easily catches fire and there is an ignition trigger hidden beneath the Dial's button. When clicked it release flames in a streak. If (or when) the grease goes out you can re-apply the grease to the insides (this is a semi-dangerous action, though and many people have lost their fingers doing so). It is good for short burst, but not for extended use which eats up the grease even faster. The flames are no different from regular flames. They can still be extinguished by exposure to water and they will still explode when exposed to gases.

Impact Dial: Just like in actual One Piece. When hit the Dial negates the impact and actually stores it within its body. It can be recalled at any moment with the press of a button. However, when pressed the user must be aware of the backlash. If they are not, damage to the arm is highly probable. It can store massive impacts in its shell ranging from a simple punch to cannon-fire (which is what James generally keeps in it). However, after releasing the impact the Dial can no longer fire and it is only capable of storing one charge, making it a powerful, but only good for one-use weapons. If it is empty it can be used to absorb an opposing blow. If it is full it can release the absorbed blow as a powerful weapon. James tends to use it sparingly, but admittedly will expend it at times for stupid reasons. It is easily one of the strongest Dials James has in his possession.

Next time it will be: The Heat (really should've done this alongside Flame) and the Water Dials. Or maybe just one as this section is a lot bigger than I had thought or maybe I'll just do this as a once a week thing so it doesn't seem as big...I don't know...I'll just keep writing.

P.S. Its kind of funny how I remember to spell Skypiean...it is Sky-Pie An. ~Oh, James got high in the sky, apple pie HOPES!~


	6. Chapter 6 What Makes a Great Pirate

**What Makes a Good Pirate...**

"What the hell is going on?" asked Johnson as he shoved James' head down beneath the railing, "what's up with all those there Marine ships?" James looked up at him questioningly, wondering if he was being asked this question. "I mean Skypiea and the World Government aren't exactly on the best of terms. Skypiea has been resisting all of the Marines attempts to drag them into an alliance. Apparently they are rather happy with the current on-goings of their nation." James nodded, he may never go to school, so he didn't know of the specifics, but there was definitely a large wedge that split them apart. He wished he knew more about it now.

"Crap," muttered the captain as he turned around, "looks like we won't be going all the way with you, James, I kind of hoped to send you off." James turned around and nodded slowly. "You don't need us to get back home as a matter of fact its probably better that the Marines haul you up there. After all, they are the good guys in this world. Its quite possible that they'll take you up there and give a soft pat on the back...just say you stole away or that some jerk ass pirates kidnapped you. Don't mention our names though, okay, we got a long record with those Marines...mentioning us will pro-" his words were cut short as a loud cannon fire was unleashed followed by an immediate explosion.

"What the hell!" shouted James as he turned around and watched the scene unfold as the Marine open-fired upon Steam Street. "What's going on? Why are they firing on Steam Street, its just steam, right? As soon as its destroyed it'll just be replaced by more steam! Its just a waste of ammo!"

"Look closer and you'll see that they're not wasting their bullets," laughed the sniper of the crew, a man who had been dubbed as 'Goggles' by the rest of them. He was lean, had messy hair, and two large blue bubbles for goggles and he had kind of a slow drawl."Here ya go, kid," he said as he passed on a pair of binoculars to him. "Take a closer look." James nodded and brought the odd contraption to his eyes. His face turned to one of horror.

"THEY ARE SHIPS THERE!"

"I thought I sensed some insects," muttered a large man as he stepped lightly onto the ship, "it turns out it was just pirates...even more disappointing then insects." The man laughed loudly as he drew a gun and aimed it James for a second, causing the young man to jump back before the man quickly swiveled the gun upwards and aimed it into the air. "The name's Blark...I'm a scout, not a fighter." He pulled the trigger and sent a large red obnoxious missile into the sky which exploded with a crisp fiery rain. "The people I just signaled are fighters though."

"Damn you!" shouted Marco, swiftly stepping forward and drawing his sword, cutting through his opponent in one swift motion...only to miss by a mile. The 'scout' had already leapt into the air and was staying in it, jumping up and down as if he was standing on a solid piece of land. "Geppou, eh? It'd be a shame if someone clipped your wings!" Marco leapt into the air, following Blark using a similar technique that allowed him to chase after him into the wild blue skies.

"Looks like we're fighting," said Goggles as he produced a large rifle from his thin coat and took aim over the seas, "I count about one hundred and fifty of them approaching us at a high speed using Soru. I'll try to snipe a couple of them out of the sky, but..." Goggles let loose a bullet that cut through the air at a surprisingly fast pace. "I doubt it'll do much good. There's just too many of them. Anything you want to say captain?" The captains' face turned pale as he looked around...they couldn't run away, not with onslaught, but still surviving it had just about as low of a percentage.

"We know...go get that blasted box you got from those damn natives and run away, we'll cause a distraction for you!" shouted Johnson as he heaved his large hammer onto his shoulder. "We'll handle these Marines and then get back to the par-" Johnson was thrown backwards by the first wave of the Marines reaching the ship. The man was lean and tall about 8 feet tall and he had long slender arms, on each arm he wore sharp metal claws, one of which was currently embedded into Johnson's shoulder. "I SAID GO, CAPTAIN!" He yelled, bringing his hammer over the air and into the side of the intruding Marine. Johnson was soon back up on his feet, screaming as he brought his hammer around and into the head of the poor Marine.

"Such poor creatures still think they have a winning chance?" muttered a man as he landed on the ship, up top and in the crow's nest. "I'm surprise they are here, pure coincidences rarely work out in my favor. Oh, well, I guess as a Marine Admiral I'm not supposed to let them leave here alive. Ah, very well...onto the execution. **Rankyaku...Guillotine."**

"Where the hell are you taking me?" shouted James as the captain carried him deeper into the ship. "I'm innocent or did you forget? The Marines should be willing to save me! I just got to make up some lie about you kidnapping me!"

"Ordinarily, I'd be fine with that, boy, but..." the captain grimaced as another cannon ball burst through the ceiling, mere inches above their heads," did you forget what they were doing to Steam Street?" James remembered that they were shooting at any boats that came down, but still why did that involve him. "Something smells rotten and I think the Marines are the cause." James paused with his struggling for a few precious seconds as he tried to think it through why would the Marines do something like that? Aren't they supposed to the peaceful ones? "I imagine Skypiea has something the World Government wants." James looked up at him baffled.

"There's something that was always a thorn in the World Government's side...and they would do anything to get their hands on it." The captain set Jams down as he went to the safe and inputted a few numbers. "Ever since the days of old...there was these things called 'Ancient Weapons'...things that were capable of ending the world...if it wasn't for opposing 'Ancient Weapons'...it was believed that they had been wiped out, but back in the days of Monkey D. Luffy, it was proven that there were techniques for reviving them." The captain quickly opened the safe and ran to the little box that he had sworn to protect. He quickly stuffed it into his pockets. "I can't imagine it exists in Skypiea, but I do imagine that the World Government wouldn't stop at any lengths to revive it...they'd probably begin with peaceful negotiations and then slowly begin to escalate."

"Those connections the doctor had...they came back...it turns out Dukoru is actually a Marine who works under the guise of a Slave Trader...he expertly kidnaps people and turns them into the World Government for questioning. I imagine that's what he's doing with your friend...he's turning her in where they can question her for the location of the Ancient Weapon."

James took a quick step back as he tried to remember all of what Dukoru said. His last words before he knocked him out sounded like that, but James thought he was just thinking up of a lie. Not to mention he mentioned the World Government would take Skypieans for 25 million...as well as getting hints about 'it' from his friend. James guessed he had just jumped to conclusions about him being a normal slave trader. "Wait, then why are they attacking Steam Street? There own man is up there!"

"That's exactly why we are doing it," muttered a man as he stepped in, his shoes were stained heavily with red blood and his blank pant legs weren't much better off. "You see, the thing is...his face is now known to the White Berets and we actually got a good reaming from them about a man named Dukoru was found to be stealing women and causing trouble for them...not only that, but apparently they found a Marine flag and documents on his ship. So we need to clean up his mess. We aren't very tolerant of messes so everyone involved in the Dukoru incident will just have to disappear from the map." James took another step back, knowing that this man was including him in that statement. "Right now on Steam Street we are finishing off Dukoru and any of those pesky White Berets that are following him down." James' eyes widened, the White Berets were innocent. "After that, we'll have to go back up there and to Skypiea...find any possible witnesses and exterminate them. Its a shame, we actually have to waste manpower eliminating stains like them from existence."

James leapt forward and threw an incredible punch right at the Marine Admiral, his head barely budged. "God, are you weak," the Marine said, swatting James' hand away, "I can't believe I almost used Tekkai to absorb that blo-" the pirate captain immediately struck, landing two fierce blows into the Marine Admiral's gut, using his finger-tips. "Ah, indeed...I had almost forgotten that you were here. That a near excellent Shigan, ex-captain of the CP-8, Sundam." The pirate captain smirked.

"Figured you'd remember eventually," he said as he stood up and brushed his coat to the side and threw it at James. "Get out of here, quickly...I'll hold him off."

"Oh, really, and where will he go?" asked the Marine Admiral. "He's a Skypiean, he wouldn't even know how to work a compass, much less a Log Pose." Sundam smiled and began warming up for a fight. "His home will be in tatters in a matter of hours, he'll have a bounty on his head, and the entire world will think of him as enemy. You're basically giving him a death sentence if he comes with us and agrees to play along we can keep the bounty off of his head, ship him off to some nice private island, or, hell, even join up with us Marines. As you can see only one of us is giving him any real option."

"I think I need to explain it to the kid, that CP-8 is a branch of the Marines." Sundam took a step forward, "so I can honestly say that this goal that you are trying to achieve...I'll stop you at all costs! I was hoping I could usher in a new age of piracy by myself, but I found out that I can't do that, however, there is one thing in this world that could...the thing you Marines fear the most...the One Piece!"

"Ha, stop being a joker," laughed the Marine as he shook his head, "do you honestly expect me to buy that stupid line? Everyone knows that the One Piece is a myth. When Monkey D. Luffy died he expected the next generation to follow blindly in his footsteps in search of that gold, but nobody could ever find it. 20 yeas of millions of lives lost searching for it proves only one thing, it never existed! Luffy and Rogers made up the lie to send thousands of young people to their deaths again and again! It was all a sick twisted game made up by the minds of sick twisted pirates!"

"What if I said I had a map to the One Piece?" Sundam grinned as he noticed the change on the Marine's face. "A map revealing the exact location of that great treasure. Do you believe me now? It was when I was traveling across the seas just living life, a small island I went to gave me this gift...a wooden box and inside was a map with the initial of D painted on the back and a note that only had one sentence on it, 'THE AGE OF DREAMS WILL NEVER BE OVER'!" Sundam charged, tackling the Marine and knocking him aside.

The small wooden box...James could feel it. When Sundam had thrown his coat to him, the wooden box was within it. He was entrusting him with the future. James jumped forward, stealing his hover board back and soaring off through the ship with it. He passed by numerous Marines, all grunting as they were thrust to the ground and landed harshly on the ground. He erupted from the ship and flew into the air, accelerating faster than ever before...stupid brakes only slowed him down. The Marines would never catch him...he was a Skypiean, so he knew two things...Dials and the sky! He vanished into the thick fog of Steam Street...leaving the pirate crew behind to carry on their dreams of a new age of pirates.

(-Later-)

"I suppose you're happy, right?" asked the Marine Admiral as he tore another chunk of ship out. He was largely unharmed, unlike Sundam who was injured beyond belief. "You apparently tossed that kid that wooden box with the map in it, right? Congratulations, it got away. Are you happy with yourself?"

"Heh, I was a Marine originally, remember? And I can tell you one thing...do you know what makes a good pirate? I can honestly say its not physical strength, intelligence, or hell even the promise of a great treasure like the One Piece...what makes a great pirate is...their grit! So, am I happy that the box got away?" laughed the captain with a smile forming on his exhausted lips, "I can honestly say I don't give a damn about it any more. But am I happy that the kid got away? Well, I am absolutely ecstatic over that."

**This Poses a Problem...**

Dun-Dun-DUN! We finally see the treasure within the small box. We finally see the face of Marines and we find out more about the Pirate Captain's past. The Marines definitely seem like someone you don't want to mess with and they are overly zealous attacking an island in search of a Weapon that may not even be up there? Killing off hundreds of innocent people in order to hide their secret backwater deals? Definitely not the kind of villains you want to get involved with. HOWEVER! I can officially say the first chunk of Sights Set on the Sky is over! We can officially move on to the first official arc!

...I should also point out I am pretty much done with finals, however, A) I still got to deal with Christmas around here, so don't expect me to suddenly become super-active and also B) my schedule is now in shreds and up in the air. I don't expect too much damage for the next couple of weeks...but who knows what January will bring.

James Toolbox: As promised here is the Water and Heat Dials!

Water Dial: The average Water Dial that James keeps on him can store about a galleon of any liquid (there are larger ones however that can store up to a swimming pool's worth.) On top of being able to release a powerful jet of water (or any other liquid) they can release a steady trickle and act like a water bottle. Their temperature can be affected by outside conditions. They can be heated or cooled and the insides will be as well (there are special coatings for them which would prevent them from doing so though. James does own them, but he rarely uses them). Once emptied refilling them is a breeze. Just submerge them in water and press the button and it will fill right up.

Heat Dial: Like in actual One Piece. The Dial releases a stream of incredibly hot air, hot enough to easily boil water and set dried trees on fire. The incredible heat is very useful in both combat and out of combat. They can cause horrible burns if used incorrectly (or correctly). It is best used in tandem with conductors of heat (like steel or water). Unlike most Dials, the Heat Dial actually does not 'require recharging'. The Heat Dial naturally heats up its insides and as a result without any outside interference they will naturally replenish their hot air sources. As a result they are a favored Dial of Skypieans everywhere for the infinite uses and easy recharge. They are very common as well. There is also rumor of a 'Chill Dial' which behaves in an opposite manner, but there are very few known encounters.

Next time in James' Toolbox is the Jet and Breath Dials.


	7. Chapter 7 This Poses a Problem

**This Poses a Problem...**

James collapsed on dry land...the Marines were right...he barely had a functioning idea of how to work a compass...and he didn't even have one. He did have the box with the map in it...but it was locked...and he didn't have the key. Thanks Sundam...James sighed and fell backwards. Crap, you know something else he didn't have? Food! He was so hungry, he had sailed for about 5 hours straight, just moving in a straight line...he was lucky his Jet Dials didn't die sooner! They just happened to die like ten minutes away from a coast line, but he still considered that to be better luck than what could've happened...but now he needed to recharge his Hover Board before he could leave this island.

"A locked box with the key to great treasure, an uncharged hover board, an empty stomach, and a bag of dials...that's all I got." James sat back down and kicked his head backwards and into the large tree he was resting on. Let's see he had four things, what he needed was...a thief who could open the locked box, a navigator who could read the map and compass, a ship to hold said thief and navigator...and, as his rumbling stomach reminded him, food. He supposed the food should come first. He got up, patted himself off and headed into the nearest town...and immediately ducked behind a dumpster. Marine flags were dotting every single building, there was a pole in front of every yard with at least one flag dedicated to the Marines. "Dear mother, you're probably wondering where I am...if you are still alive, to answer that question I fell from the sky, landed about a billion miles below us, got saved by villains who are actually heroes, almost got killed by heroes who are actually villains, am now wanted by every single government official, and wound up lost in a town filled with devoted government fanatics...oh, but I'm having fun." James sighed and collapsed...'fun', no, fun was riding on his now dead hover-board over rolling oceans of clouds.

"Hey, hey, kid."

James eared perked up as he looked around him, he was in the back alleys, hiding behind a dumpster...chances are whoever wanted to talk to him probably wasn't the friendliest or most hygienic guy. Suddenly he felt something dull hit his head from above, so that's where he looked. An older man, probably late forties was leaning out the window and looking down on James. "Hey, there's a rule around here, you're not supposed to be out before 9 AM...that's when the Marines do their rounds...come on, climb into this window...I'll get the rope down for you." James jumped up, letting loose another burst of his Breath Dials and landed into the window without a problem. "Ayi yi yi," chuckled the man, obviously a little bit uncomfortable. "Never saw a man do that before."

"What do you mean by rounds?" asked James as he looked around and glanced out the window, thankful that he had found someone kind enough to tell him as there was a group of Marines walking down the path right this instant. There were about eight of them and each one had their hands on some kind of leash, which was connected to a man or woman behind them by their neck. "What the hell?" The non-Marines were basically naked, stripped down to their underwear and it was obvious that they had some kind of marking system in place as they had stars 'branded' not tattooed on some part of their body.

"Those are the criminals of this town, if you get found breaking a rule, they tie you up and take you to the base to be branded and they lock you up for a day." James grimaced, note to self don't break rules in this town. "The main rules are as I just told you don't be out before 9 AM or after 9 PM and always have a Marine flag outside your house, if you don't, well, then they take that as a sign of mutiny and take you back to be branded." James looked shocked at this news, hell, even angry. "Don't worry too much, they are actually kind of nice if your flag is broken or torn or something of the sort, they won't do it. Even if they find it lying in a ditch they won't punish you as long as you have it up the next day."

James muttered something quietly as he looked out of the window. "What about the other flags?"

"Some are for specific Marines stationed here," pointed out the kind stranger, "basically if more than half of the island is flying your flag you get a raise. It was kind of designed to help balance out the Marine influence and give us people a chance to fight back!" The man laughed, apparently pleased that he could influence the Marine's pocket book...by making it bigger. "You see that one in my neighbor's yard...that's for the captain, 'Stern Jaw' McGully. The one across the street is for the 'Human Hard Hat' Humon." James nodded, he supposed he at least got a little information about this town from this man.

"I need a flag," stated James as he moved backwards to a chair and sat down.

"Oh, are you a new Marine to be stationed here?" said the man, rubbing his hands together as if he got hold of some juicy information, "if so, I'll be more than happy to be the first member of your fan club. I mean, the way you jumped up like two stories to get to my window is definitely a sign of strength...you could be the next captain of this base...you know when 'Stern Jaw' retires, nobody's taking that position from him."

"Nah, I'm a pirate, I need a pirate flag."

The old man's face didn't change for a couple of seconds as he just stared at James, trying to figure out what to do next...he apparently didn't hear him right. "You said, you're a pirate?"

"Yup."

Short, sweet to the point...and exactly the trigger word that caused the man to freak out. "Crap, I actually just aided a pirate...that means I'm getting fined like 1 million belies! I don't have that much in my savings account right now! How am I ever going to pay that off? Crap, crap, crap, crap!"

"Crap? Do you need to use the toilet," asked James, causing the man to freak out even more. "Eh, don't worry, worst case scenario just say I held a gun to your head and forced you to co-operate. I'll back up your story." James stood up and went over to the window.

"Uh, where do you think you're going, this is a second story room, remember?" asked the house owner as he seemed to slowly calm down.

"Me? I'm going up...better then being dragged down, wouldn't you say?" laughed James as he leapt from the window and activated his Breath Dials once more propelling him upwards and onto the rooftops of the four story building. The man poked his head out the window and looked up at the sky, he couldn't see where the goofy little pirate ran off to...oh, well, he guessed if he did disappear then there was no way for the Marines to trace him back to this house. All-in-all, he was safe. "Hey, Marine jerks." Crap...spoke too soon.

James was sitting on top of the building his legs crossed and a Dial in each hand...luckily, he had managed to recharge his Impact Dial back on Sundam's ship with a cannon. Now he had a Shock Dial, Impact Dial, and Flame Dial all ready. The Marines looked up at him and wore confused expressions on their faces. "Listen, son, there's a rule in place you can't be out before 9 o'clock...if you do we'll have to arrest you and brand you, like these lovely ladies here." Laughed the Marine as he grabbed a hold of one of the women and pulled her in tight, grabbing her ass and pointing to the star brand right above her right hip. The woman bit her lip and refused to say anything, but it was obvious she didn't like it. However, not nearly as much as the Marine didn't like what came next...a yellow liquid came spurting out of James' Water Dial, coating the Marine's face...and getting into his mouth, which was wide open from his laughing.

"Delicious, ain't it?" laughed James, however, he immediately ducked to the side as the Marine took out a gun and open fired upwards at the building. "What the hell man? Its just lemonade!" The rest of the Marines followed suite taking out small pistols and aiming upwards. "I guess they are cola people. Can't say I blame them." James leapt backwards taking off and into the skies causing the Marines to once again further reach upwards. James jetted from side-to-side using his Breath Dials easily avoiding the gunshots until he was in hitting distance. A Shock Dial for the lemonade-soaked Marine and a Flame Dial for the rest of them. Electricity and fire both shot out of his hands, completely frying the group of Marines in an instant and knocking them out. James shot down next to one of the Marines and took out another Water Dial. "Now it may not be as bad as branding, but..." James activated the Water Dial, letting out a splurge of ink onto the ground. He took out a thin pen and began writing on the Marine's faces and body, "but I do fancy myself an artist."

(-Later that day-)

The group of Marines had gathered back at the Marine Base. The eight or so of them all had goofy drawings (and pretty bad ones at that) on their faces. The first one to spoke was the one that got soaked by lemonade...and had a bikini drawn on his chest. "We were attacked by one man, we believe him to a vigilante of epic proportions. He's definitely a pirate and he uses weird seashells capable of spouting water, electricity, or fire."

"Mmm-hmmm," said the captain, whose entire body was currently cloaked in a heavy shroud of shadows. He was currently perusing a few Wanted Posters he stopped at the name of Kelda Morgan, but quickly shuffled hers back into the stack as he listened to his underings report back to him.

"He's also insane," continued the Marines with their report, this time it was a Marine with a 'cat-face' drawing. "He jumped from atop of a roof-top, sprayed our leading officer with what we hope to believe is in fact lemonade, and then drew on our faces when we knocked out by his attacks."

"Mmm-hmmm."

The Marines looked a little bit off, their captain wasn't known as 'Stern Jaw' for nothing...he was infamous for being right there whenever they branded the townsfolk, often taking the most delight in it...hell, he was the one who set such a twisted system up in the first place. Nobody ever misbehaved in his presence, cause they knew a stern lashing or punishment would be quick to follow...and a bungled report was just as big of a misbehavior as everything else.

"We...we...we..." tried to report the Marines once more, but they couldn't think of anything else to go with.

"The punishment for the failure to capture one single pirate should be a lot stricter, but I am going to go nice on these men as they seem to have had a rough day." The Marines let out a quiet sigh. "DEATH PENALTY!"

"That's not very nice at all!"

"Oh, I'm sorry, did I say Death Penalty...I meant, one thousand lashings, standing outside in the freezing rain for one hour with buckets of boiling hot water on their heads, an official apology given to the entire Marine Base, and going without desert for six months!" All of the Marines looked down to the floor and sighed. It was better then the Death Penalty, but...tonight was chocolate cake night. "Anyways, I look forward to beating the crap out of such a weakling like this poor fellow. I will use my iron fists of power to defeat this poor punk and give him...ten lashings for his impudence!"

"THAT'S TOO LENIENT!"

"Oops, did I say ten lashings...I MEANT TO SAY THE DEATH PENALTY!"

"YEAH!"

**Prisoners**

Okay, ordinarily I would say something like good news, bad news...yeah, no good news...(sorry to be a negative Nelly around Christmas), but I lost my power due to an ice storm. Thick ice, no power, no telephone (the power company says no power till Saturday, yeah...). Anyways, camping out at a hotel wasn't going to upload a new chapter due to the suckage around here, but decided...what the hell. May not post for the rest of the week though. Also, I should point out one thing...I said something about chapters earlier, right? Well, I did Chapter 7 twice so push all those ideas about Ocs appearing in Chapter 13 back to Chapter 14. (Also for the one person who recognizes the bounty poster *wink-wink*.)

Onto James' Toolbox!

Breath Dials and Jet Dials: There is very little differentiation between these two. They both suck in air (like a vacuum) and release air. The main difference is the speed and characteristics of the air. The Jet Dial releases a stronger breeze (which is why they are often used in Dial Skates, Hover Boards, and boats) while the Breath Dial releases a much more controllable stream. Ordinarily this would seem to make the Jet Dial the clear victor, however, the Breath Dial has one unique quality (on top of the fact that the Jet Dial is rare). The Breath Dial can store and keep gases (flammable, poisonous, strong-smelling) in its body. This makes it more ideal in combat due to its near infinite variability. If your opponent is using a Breath Dial it may possess deadly gases, flammable gases, or just be a joke. A Jet Dial will always just blow air. To charge just move it around it recharges by spinning your arm (as shown in the anime) or just by shaking.

Next time will probably be the Flash/Tone Dial (One or both, depending on my mood for writing given the poor weather).


	8. Chapter 8 Prisoners

**Prisoners**

"Maybe I should've thought this through," muttered James as he climbed through the Marine Base's window. "I got no idea why I'm even here...hell, as a matter of fact, I probably should've just kept my nose out of those Marines' businesses...none of my business if they treat their citizens like crap." James shrugged, he was just too nice of a guy sometimes...time for him to steal some money. Hey, he was broke. Basic human nature, kindness and niceties ended when your pockets were empty. Besides, they were Marines and he was a pirate (sort of), it was the circle of life. The halls were tall, at least ten feet separated his head from the ceiling and most of that space was occupied with lavish chandeliers or paintings on the wall...in other words, things that he would probably break if he looked at them wrong. He shrugged it off and went in deeper.

"Here, money, money, money...come to papa." As James was fairly certain he had covered earlier...he was not a thief. Not in the slightest...not in the tiniest way. The most he had ever stole was a base in a game of a baseball. And even then he usually got caught doing it. He crouched down as he heard the slightest sound of voices coming down the hallway. James quickly muttered something else beneath his breath, turning to look both right and left before ducking into the closest door, trying to gently (yet quickly) close it behind him. James leaned up against the wooden door and tried to listen through and while the words remained muffled, he could make most of them out.

"I was just thinking, but you know...the economy of this town is really poor, you know?" stated one of the men as they walked through the base. "I mean, there aren't too many people in this town bustling with pocketbooks full of money. So, I was thinking of asking to be moved, you know, promoted to another town soon. Maybe there the people will actually be able to give me a raise. And, you know, what I think I deserve one. I'm the one keeping all of these idiot townspeople in line."

"Why don't you just raise the taxes before you go, you know, really wring these poor suckers out?" laughed the other man as he came by. James was nearly thrown into the air simply due to the vibrations of his footsteps. "I mean, they still have some money left, don't they?" The two of them laughed loudly as they continued on through the Marine Base. "After all, their money is our money! We're the ones protecting them from pirate scum!"

"Yeah right, what pirate scum! This island is so remote most maps don't even list it!" laughed the two idiots as they continued on down the path, "that's why the economy is poor, no trade ships, no Marine ships, and definitely no pirate ships ever land here! Its just us here! Every so often we file a bogus report stating we chased another armada of pirates away and Headquarters always respond with 'Good work, men!' WHAT FOOLS! We are living it up in luxury here, perfectly safe from the real dangers of the Grand Line!" From there, their boisterous laughter and rude comments became harder to make out so James just shrugged and let it die. He knew Marines were evil, he was trying to stop them, but then again he had no business poking his nose into other people's problems...and this was definitely somebody else's problem.

James backed off, deciding to give himself a few more seconds before he burst out of the room and continued searching for gold. That meant he was stuck in this room until then...what room was this? A quick check of the walls showed off maps, both displayed rather proudly and some rolled up so nobody could see them. A large desk sat in the center of the room and James walked up to it and gave it a quick glance over. "Interesting, very interesting," he said, slightly cliché, but it was true at this current moment. He pulled open the drawers, tossing the leftover papers aside and picked up a compass. Now, he won't get lost in the Grand Line. That was probably long enough for the hallways to empty out, he may as well go grab his cash and get. But before he did...that thing that was interesting. James walked over and picked it up, quickly stowing it away in his bag with his Dials.

He moved to the door and paused slightly before it, making sure to listen for anyone else in the hallways, once he was absolutely certain nobody was there. He exited, plain and simple. A nice swift gait, a smile on his face, and out he went. Only to be immediately herded back in as another group of Marine shadows were cast on the wall. James held tightly to the door, trying to peer out and listen at the same time.

"Get going, you damn scum!" muttered one of the Marines as he swiftly kicked a man in-between them all in the gut. "To the navigation room, hopefully this time you can remember where it was you dropped it." James' face fell. Navigation room, huh? James turned around and looked at the room he was currently in...yup, one thousand belies said this was it. He panicked...quietly. He didn't want to alert them that somebody was in here. He looked left and right, but couldn't find anything, nobody else was here! There wasn't even any hiding spots! A barrel? Nope. A chest? Nope...not even a curtain to duck behind! Crap, crap, crap! Suddenly James saw his way out! The desk! It was right in the center of the room and he really should've thought of it first. His shoes would be visible at the very bottom, but the rest of him should blocked off by one of its three sides. He ducked beneath it and quietly hid there. Hopefully, nobody would look under it now...or else his cover would be blown.

It was not surprisingly very uncomfortable beneath the desk. The desk was about 2 and a half feet tall and only three feet wide. It was fairly cramped beneath it, especially considering that a small urn of other maps had already claimed this area as its own. James pushed it aside to make a little more room. He was breathing harshly, he never realized how hard it would be to be a pirate...he should've guessed...after all almost everything he has done in his entire life had been fairly easy...finally something had come up that would be hard.

"And here we are! Remember this cozy room? Nice and comfy, huh?" stated one of the Marines and James flinched as he heard something hard, like a human skeleton get slammed against the ground. He blamed his own inquisitive nature, but he couldn't resist stealing a peek beneath the table's side, which hovered about two inches off of the ground. Once more a horribly uncomfortable position, but he suppose if it satisfied his inquisitive instincts it would be worth it...and, boy, did he regret it quickly. Perhaps ordinarily nobody would've been on the floor to look under the desk, but now someone was.

He felt like an idiot. Was his thought process really 'hey, someone just fell to the floor...maybe I should I look underneath desk to see who it was. Forget about hiding your presence from somebody who is in a perfect position to see you'? Man, was he an idiot. Then again...as he stared over the wooden floor and at the person, who obviously saw him too, he felt a little better. Despite her long black hair blocking off most of her face, James could tell she had good features all around. Her hazel blue eyes locked on his for just the briefest of moments before the Marine cut in.

"What missy, you like the floor now? Is it your new 'bestest fwiend forever'?" the three Marines accompanying the young girl all laughed at his hilarious joke, but James never found bad grammar to be funny. It was 'best', not 'bestest' even someone who skipped school regularly knew that. "Come on, stop stalling! You got three hours in here and you better have something for us today too, or you know what you may just be demoted," he laughed as he bent down, just far enough to grab her head, so he couldn't see under the desk and see what she saw, "or you'll be demoted from prisoner to my personal plaything...do you want that?"

James grimaced, preparing himself for the worst. If by 'something' that Marine meant an escaped convict hiding beneath the desk, his goose was officially cooked. "I'll try my best," said the girl, offering up her best sarcastic grin to the Marine official.

"I can't wait to hear you say that when I march your tiny little ass off to my private quarters," the Marine officer leered letting her fall back to the ground, he stood there for a few more seconds even after the rest of his allies headed to the door, ready to leave. He stood there, eying her up as she struggled back to her feet. His tongue lashing out over his pink and slightly chubby bottom lip as he began to think of her and him in his private quarters. Finally she was standing up and beginning to march to the desk and James noticed something odd about that, but he couldn't quite place what it was. "Or, but before I go, I got to handcuff your leg to your desk, you know, Captain's orders." James swallowed harshly, if he did indeed put the handcuffs on her leg and then the desk's leg there was an incredible chance he would peek beneath the desk. James spared himself another glimpse towards the door and indeed his two buddies hadn't left yet. It looked like this was going to be fi-

"I'll do it myself!" shouted the girl as she snatched the handcuffs from him, she pulled up her pant leg a bit, probably just to give the man a show to distract him, which it definitely did. James could swear he saw the man drooling all the way to the floor. The girl latched the first handcuff around her ankle and the second around the desk's leg. "Good enough for you?" she said, a bit of a snazzy tone to her voice, but the Marine official was too busy drowning in his own drool to notice the tone.

"Oh, baby, no woman's ever been good enough for me," he said as he leaned forward and over her desk, staring at her straight in the eyes. "But you and your little kinky side there may just be." James fought back the urge to puke. In all honesty between him, the urn filled with maps, and the lady's legs (which he had a lovely view of by the way) he doubted there was enough room for his vomit. The man pulled out another pair of handcuffs and dangled them in front of her, "what do you say? Each and every single day I lead you in here tell you the only thing you have to do is tell us where you hid it and you can go. But each and every single day you say you can't do it. That can only mean one thing."

"I didn't hide it and you Marines are too stupid to realize it," she pointed out, but the man just laughed.

"No, bitch, you want to come back to my room with me! The thought of leaving me makes you weak in the knees, come on now just admit it, huh?" he laughed, "just admit it. Fail today and I'll be pleased to take you back my room and use my handcuffs on you. Any...way...you want."

"Too bad I can't handcuff your mouth shut," muttered the girl. James did a swift nod to show his support of that idea, too bad nobody could see him...actually that was still a good thing in this situation.

"Your mouth says no, but..." the Marine leaned over her desk and grabbed her chin, "but your body says yes." He laughed loudly again and finally took his leave. James had never been happier to not be female and have to put up with things like...nor more ashamed to be a man.

"You can come out now." Oh, right, the assaultee was still in the room and knew that he was in here with her. James crawled out from beneath the desk, thankful to finally be able to stretch his leg. Hmm, another thing to be thankful for. Man, he had it good right now. Being a man and being able to stretch his legs? Things couldn't get much better then this. "Now tell me why you are here before I call security." Oh...there went his good day right down the drain.

**The Deal With The Devil**

TA-DA! Chapter update. Sorry fer not updating twice last week like usual, but having no power around Christmas really puts you into a bad mood for awhile (especially when said no power lasts five days). ANYWAYS! I am done complaining about that cause nobody wants to hear it!

A new nameless female has entered the scene...cause you know I hate naming characters. Don't worry I actually include her name this time. I'm really getting tired of having so much backlog as I'm wondering about a few plot twists I included and would like some feedback, but its not until like Chapter 30 when you see them...so far...anyways!

Onto James' Toolbox section: Flash/Tone Dials. Decided to include both of them as I did skip an update so here it is:

Flash Dials: A seldom used, yet favorite of James'. When activated it releases a bright flash of light. Generally this flash of light lasts for less then 1/8 of a second, however, due to its great strength its effects can last up to three minutes (depending on distance and how well charged the Dial is). If released close-up (which James rarely does due to his lack of raw physical strength) its strength is increased due to the fact that more light is let into the opponent's retina. The Flash Dial is generally only good for one blast at a time, but due to the fact that it naturally reloads (just by being exposed to light) it can be fired quickly to some effect. It takes about an hour of natural sunlight for it to recharge, but brighter/stronger lights would increase the speed.

Tone Dials: James very rarely uses Tone Dials as they have the lowest in-battle uses, but they are good for reconnaissance or for distractions mid-battle. They can only hold one recording at a time and can play that one recording for an infinite loop. They can store anywhere in-between 0 decibels (which is the minimum for human hearing) and 140 decibels (which is the sound of a gunshot). At 140 decibels they can damage human hearing and very easily disorientate many people. Despite this since James has no good ways to protect his own ears from this Dial he does not particularly enjoy using it and actually has some bad side-effects on him, as a result he prefers them just for quiet distractions. He doesn't even consider them battle Dials most of the time.

Man, I'm running out of Dials...maybe I'll just do some SBS-like stuff. Like tell you the Birthdays of the characters/the bounties of the pirates who helped James. Stuff like that.


	9. Chapter 9 A Deal With A Devil

**A Deal With a Devil**

"I was checking the integrity of the desk?" asked James, offering up quite possibly one of the lamest excuses in the history of mankind to explain why he was hidden beneath the desk while the girl was verbally assaulted by a Marine. Speaking of girl, she looked less than happy at his words, forcing James into stumbling over his tongue trying to think of a second excuse. "I was building a fort?" Possibly an even less likely excuse and the girl's face seemed to stiffen even more into a near permanent scowl. "I was testing for termites, I was practicing my earthquake protection drills, I was taking a nap, I was trying to find the price tag, I'm playing hide-and-seek with my best friend, I got lost on my way to bathroom, I-" He was cut off.

"Please stop you are making a fool of yourself." The girl stated it plainly, despite her ability to lie she didn't seem all too fond when somebody else did it. Or maybe she just hated it when somebody else did it poorly, which seemed to sum up James' rather shockingly poor performance...he blamed the man's lame lines...he was still fighting the urge to vomit at the thought of them. "Now tell me why are you really here?" she asked leaning forward and staring him in the eyes. "I don't like it when people lie to me, okay? It has happened too often in the past and I'd really not travel done those roads again."

"What roads? Memory lane? Nostalgia street?" asked James trying to make small talk and avoid the real question at hand. He still had no idea if he could trust her...besides saying 'I'm here to steal the gold' very rarely went over well with people. They never seemed to believe you were doing it for good reasons (then again James admitted he probably didn't have a good reason. It was mostly just to say he had gold, gold he had stolen from a Marine Base). The girl hardened her glare at him. Suddenly James had a good idea, the girl was chained to the desk...he could just run.

_Click. _"Hello, Marine officers?" asked the girl, speaking into a small Den-Den Mushi that was left in the room, probably specifically in case some was hiding under desk and refused to tell her why. "Yes, I believe there to a pirate in my room." James fell to the ground, both hands together in a praying gesture, begging her to take her words back, "oops, never mind. It was only my shadow." She hung up before the curses of the Marine on the other line got to loud. Apparently they were none too fond of being joked around with. "So, while I find it tedious to repeat, I will since you seem so dense...what are you doing here?"

"Testing for termites?" joked James, "oops, I already said that one, didn't I?" The girl moved towards the Den-Den Mushi once more, so James decided it was time to just come out with it. "I'm here to steal all the gold in this Marine Base. I'm a pirate and I need to get some gold somehow." James laughed a little bit. He was still unsure if he could technically be considered a pirate. Shouldn't you have a bounty before you call yourself a pirate? Or a ship? Or a crew? Or a single gold coin to your name?

"You? A pirate?" said the girl, obviously holding back a fit of laughter, "I think I found it more viable when you said you were lost on your way to the bathroom." She stretched back and leaned against it. "Then again if anybody was stupid enough to be a pirate in this day and age...I'd say you'd definitely be it."

"Oh, thank you, I knew you always secretly believed in me!" James responded with a big grin on his face. "Well, now if we're done here I'll be going now. I got to find a ship, a crew, and some gold. Not necessarily in that order."

The girl pouted for a few seconds before staring down at her handcuffs which tied her to the chair. "Hey, wait, bozo," James froze in the door. He did suppose he hadn't told her his name, yet, but still he always thought he looked more like idiot than a bozo. "Take me with you." Once more straight and to the point, choosing to avoid the mincing of words was apparently her strong suit, unlike James' which was choosing to avoid the unpleasant mincing of words...like for example when a girl you know nothing about asks you (or in this case it sounded more like ordering you) to take her with you. James just never saw how that would work in your favor.

"Why?" Great! More meaningless mincing of words! He supposed it had to be asked though.

The girl lifted her leg up a few inches off of the ground, causing the desk to drag slightly. "Maybe cause if I stay here I'll be continuously chained to a desk for the rest of my life." Hmm, maybe it didn't have to be asked. Maybe if he had used his brain for five seconds he would've noticed it. Still he supposed that was a clean cut transition into the next question he was bound to ask.

"What are those bozos after all anyways? Besides the guy who was in here earlier, I think it was fairly obvious what he wanted from you." At least, he had noticed one thing that made her like bad. He wondered if he could keep it up.

"I know the location of a certain something and they want that something," she explained plainly, once again refusing to be the least bit helpful. "As even you could probably guess I'm refusing to tell them anything."

"What is this something?" James asked, admittedly his curiosity had been piqued. He knew generally when that happened it meant something bad was going to happen, but nonetheless he had to satisfy it. Where was the fun of being a pirate if you couldn't satisfy your deep, dark twisted urges (for learning).

"Nothing I'm telling you about." And a sucker punch right to his brain! He had not seen that coming, although he really should've it was like a wall or a tree...although admittedly he had hit plenty of those on his hover-board. Maybe he should get his eyes checked. "Its really none of your business, you are just the lucky hero who gets save a beautiful damsel in distress." She lifted the one leg handcuffed to the desk as high as it could go, making sure James got a good look at it. "You should feel honored."

He was feeling something alright...an urge to punch her in the mouth. Nonetheless, he supposed he didn't really much of an option in this case. If he ran away, she would certainly call the Marines and boom! His escape plan would be ruined. He reached into his bag and grabbed a hold of her foot. "Fine, fine, don't squirm, I'll get you out of here." He pulled out a Flame Dial and held it against the chain. "This is an Axe Dial, okay? It sucks in air and turns it into a high-pressured and very thin bullet like a sword's slice." The girl scoffed at him. Such a thing hadn't been invented yet. And yet there she sat, watching as it did exactly as he said. The chain did in fact get split in two by a very thin bullet that came from the Axe Dial or whatever that thing was called. "There, you are free! The knight in shining armor has rescued you! Go do whatever it is damsels in distress do when they are no longer in distress."

The girl uncomfortably bit her lip. She had admittedly been planning on abandoning him right then and there. He had served his purpose and she could now run away as fast as she could. She even knew where the Marine Ships were kept she could steal one of those and be on her merry way faster then you could say 'Axe Dial'. But...she glazed over the man who had freed her once more while her grumbled about having to use his technology to save her. If he could cut through an iron chain, he may worth keeping around. While she didn't like relying on other people (after all look where it has gotten her), using other people was okay in her book. "I have decided you need me," she stated matter-of-factually, "so, I suggest we form a temporary alliance until we break out of here and get to the next island."

"I don't need your help," muttered James as he dug into his pocket and produced a smooth compass, "I got a compass. I can put together on how to get to the next island all by myself. As soon as I fill my bag with gold I wi-" He was interrupted by the girl's incessant (yet cute and slightly annoying) laughter. "Do you mind? You just interrupted my brilliant plan."

"I'm sorry, I'm sorry," she said trying to stifle her laughter as she snatch the compass from his hands and showed the face of it to him, "you are in the Grand Line, remember? Compasses don't work here." And indeed as if to show off its faith in the girl's words and possibly just to embarrass James, it was spinning like crazy clearly not pointing North like its fabled reputation stated it would. "You need a Log Pose," she stated pointing to her wrist where small see-through sphere was stationed on it and a red needle pointed in one direction was also in there. "This will point to another island and we can just follow this needle to get there."

"Really? And I need a navigator to do that?" James was surprised. He needed a navigator to say 'follow the red needle'? He was fairly certain he could do that.

"A navigator is needed to tell you North from South, analyze the wave patterns, as well judge the weather to see if it safe to sail in the current conditions," she explained it all so eloquently James was actually kind of impressed. Obviously she wasn't just a pretty face forced to sit in a room all day long doing nothing more then awaiting the arrival of 'Sir Smart-butt of the Marines'.

"Yeah, that does sound like a lot of work," James muttered. However, it was clear he still wasn't convinced with what she was saying. He just really needed to get to the next island before asking for help. Did he really need somebody for that? In all honesty, sneaking out by himself sounded a hell of a lot easier then with somebody else. Besides his hover-board only carried one person at a time anyways.

The girl grimaced slightly, in all honesty she didn't need him, but she certainly would appreciate getting some help getting off of this island. And he seemed slightly capable. Suddenly an idea popped into her head, "besides do you really only want a bag of gold?" she asked as she flicked his small empty cloth sack. He paused and looked her, questioningly. "Wouldn't you rather have a ship of it?" she asked stretching her arms wide. "Cause I know where you can get one of those, too...if you we work together...and, of course, split the money 50/50, but tell you what. Since you are a pirate I'll let you keep the ship! So how does that sound a ship half-full with gold! All you need to do is help me out."

James paused for a second, somewhere in the recesses of his mind a wheel was turning. The gold was promising, but it was mostly just looking for a 'word'. He had heard of people like this before. And there was more often then not a word that accompanied them. A single word that summed up their entire personality. He smiled as he remembered it. He stretched his hand and offered it to her. The term is 'Devil', but in order to get to where he wanted he knew he would have to make several deals along the way...so why not start off with a Devil right off of the back.

The girl looked hesitant herself. Like she was unsure if she should trust him despite the fact that she was the one who had proposed the plan. The two of them stood there in a dead lock as her hand slowly crept forward. Indeed she was in the same place as him. She needed to get out of here and quickly. She'll make a deal with a devil as well as long as she could get out of here!

**Even Devils Have Wishes**

Hey, it looks like I didn't forget about all of you after all! Nah, I just had a little problem yesterday with stuff (I'm not going to go into it). Anyways, the new girl (whose name still remains unknown, I really should make a note of starting to include people's names) is clearly quite manipulative, but it looks like it works out well for her...and possibly James if they can escape with all of the gold in tow. I can already hear people saying, 'but its your work...nothing ever works out for them.'

Anyways, onto James' Toolbox! With this I'm (technically) out of Dials. Even these two are Dials which James has never actually used yet in this story, oh, well...here they are!

Flavor Dial: Nothing great or important as a matter-of-fact possibly James least used Dial. It serves no greater purpose than releases scents and aromas which serves very little purpose in battle asides from maybe covering up the heavy stench of the gas released from his Breath Dial. However, James has very little use for packing flavors in it though, so he generally just keeps funky smells in it to upset his opponents. They are recharged by exposing them to the scents or flavor and it absorbs some drifting molecules from them. It reduces the scent and flavor of any item it is used on, but once again outside of everyday life there is very little reason for James to use them.

Vision Dial: Another non-combat Dial James uses. It is mostly for relaying information or obtaining information, barring these two activities they are not used. They work in a similar way as old cameras do now. They accept light in from an opening. That light hits a light sensor which record the information into the Dial. The Dial can then be either hooked up to a Den-Den Mushi to display said information or they can reveal the information by themselves. Either way they serve zero in-battle capabilities.

Anyways, I'll probably move onto a much more SBS-type thing. And since very rarely do I ever get asked questions about my stories (aside from possible plot twists in the future) I'll just include tid-bits about the characters which would probably not be mentioned normally.


	10. Chapter 10 Even Devils Have Wishes

**Even Devils Have Wishes**

The swords whizzed by James' head as he ducked beneath them, readying his Axe Dial once more. In all honesty, this was probably his least favorite Dial, but he supposed it was capable of rapid-fire unlike the Impact Dial and he could use it to deal decent damage. Nonetheless as James leaned forward and pushed the Dial into the charging Marine grunt's gut and let it rip, almost literally as it ripped through the opponent's clothes and tore up his now bare chest. James jumped back, a little worse for the wear, but he supposed after beating up five Marines that was to be expected. "Why the hell are there so many of them here?"

"You do realize you are in a Marine base, don't you?" asked his latest 'friend' as she walked by coming out from behind a potted plant and onto the main walk. James grumbled beneath his breath, but shrugged it off. He now saw why she wanted to escape with him. It was where she didn't have to do any of the work. "Anyways, there's only a few more halls left before we get to the shipyard where we can hijack a ship and set sail."

"What about my gold?" asked James. He was beginning to become more and more ticked off he had agreed to spit the gold with her. She certainly wasn't pulling her weight, she was supposed to take him to the gold and then get the ship where they can set sail straight out of here...with a mountain of gold. He had heard two of the Marine officers complaining early on that they were wringing the necks of the towns people with taxes, so it would make sense for him to make money off of their bad deeds. Steal from a thief was probably one of the most noble non-noble acts you can commit.

"Relax, hotshot, its on the way there," muttered the girl as she now calmly strode in front of him, you know now that any and all threats to her well-being were gone. "However, so is the Captain's quarters so when we sneak by there you're going to have to be quiet, okay?" James grumbled beneath his breath again, she was treating him like a five-year-old kid in a fine china shop. He knew not to raise a ruckus when you are surrounded by a thousand of your enemies.

"Well, since we have some free time until then perhaps you can tell me what this blasted thing is you got imprisoned for," stated James as he dashed in front of the girl and tried to keep pace with her while never breaking eye contact. The girl swiftly looked away, turning her nose up at James and keeping her gaze fixated at the ceiling.

"Its none of your business," she stated, "just cause I'm not telling the Marines doesn't mean I'm going to offer a random pirate any information." James actually felt a little hurt at that sentiment, just a random a pirate? Is that really all he was to her? After all they've been through?! He thought he'd at least be moved up to pirate she just met or maybe even jerk. It made sense. James sulked a little bit and apparently she noticed his slightly sagging shoulders as she soon softened her face and shook her head, "listen there are a lot of things in this world that should never be spoken of, okay? This is just one of those things. I probably would've even tell my own mother."

Huh? Well, what did you know? She had a mother. For some reason after their recent interactions James was getting the feeling she had just crawled out of a dark cave somewhere. "Fine, don't tell me anything, but I don't want to hear you asking about THIS!" shouted James as he turned around and shoved the special box he got from Sundam in her face.

"I don't want to know about your damn box," she said, stiffening her face and walking past him. James frowned...well, so much for his trump card. Now he just had his dazzling personality. He looked at her from behind as she increased her speed a little, eager to separate from him...this was going to be harder then he had originally planned. But damn it! His curiosity was burning with passion! "Hey, it looks like we got company," she muttered as he peered around a corner.

James peaked around the corner and nodded at least eight Marines were crowded into the hallway. He wondered why...perhaps this was just his blasted curiosity being kicked into hyper-drive, but he wanted to know why. Then again, did they really have the time?" James turned around and faced the girl...who he just now realized they had never exchanged names. Why would they? 'Hey, you' seemed to have been working pretty well so far.

"Hey, you," muttered the girl as she lightly tapped him on the head. See? "Go fight them." James' face fell a little flat as he shook his head. Once again all the weight of getting them out of this Marine Base once more fell on HIS shoulders. Maybe he should just betray her at this point...she was kind of asking for it. No, he couldn't do that...he still needed to find the gold and if she told on him, he'd be in trouble.

"Let's just go around them," he pointed out. "I mean, there's what a hundred hallways in this Marine Base at least one other one has to lead to the gold room." From the gold room they could find their way to her blasted ship. The girl shook her head.

"Yeah, but this is the quickest way," she muttered, trying to keep her voice low. "So, go fight them." She lightly gestured towards the Marines with her hands as if James was a dog and would just follow along with her. James shook his head. Once again, it would be best to avoid fighting. He only had one Impact Dial still and if he misused it, they'd be in trouble in case they ever did need it.

The girl sighed and stormed out into the hallway, "HEY, MARINE DOOFUSES!" James fell straight to the floor in shock as the Marines turned around to face them, it took them a couple of seconds, but it did seem that they recognized her. She bent down and picked James up by the ear, "this guy is kidnapping me!"

"Hey, she is the prisoner!" one of them shouted and the rest of them nodded and looked at her. "Did you hear that? That guy is trying to kidnap her!" James' face fell, he was an inquisitive guy...but he never found people's stupidity to be all that fascinating. It was obviously a trap, hopefully at least one out of the group had the brainpower necessary to figure that out. But as they all charged at them, he realized that not a single one did.

He swiftly rolled his sleeve up and took a swift step out into the hallway, "you better sleep with one eye open when we're on our ship, cause I may just throw you overboard," he stated casually over his shoulder and at his 'partner' as she eagerly waved him forward. He grabbed another Dial from his bag and held it forward in one hand and soon it was joined by another.

"**Fog Shield!" **One Dial expelled fire and the other one shot out water and soon the two mingled and mixed, revealing a heavy white fog that blanketed the field. He could hear the Marines mutter and sputter as they stepped back, confused as to where the fog came from.

"**Axe! Blaze! Shock!" **James rushed through the thick fog, stepping into it and continually striking out even in the midst of it. He hit each Marine squarely, easily blowing them off and breaking bones and tearing skin with ease.

When James was done with it all he brought out his Breath Dial and sucked it all back up and into it. Simple things really. When you understood the exact ability of each and every Dial you soon completely understand what they are capable of both alone and together. Combining their effects is probably one of the most devastating things a person can do with them.

"Okay, fine, I kicked their asses," muttered James as he stretched out, he still felt cramped from hiding out underneath that desk, "let's go." James turned around and soon found himself completely alone (ignoring those Marines grunts on the ground who he had just knocked out). "Hello? Hello? Hey, YOU!" James looked a little bit upset, perhaps 'Hey, you' wasn't working out after all and he really did need to know her name.

(-With the girl-)

"There you are!" whispered man into her ear as he pulled her in close to her body. It was the same man as before, the one who was continuously harassing her. She tried to struggle free, but his thick arms were actually fairly strong. "I went to your room to check on you, only to find you missing. Its a shame cause I was planning to have some more fun with you."

Her eyes went wide as she tried to find somewhere to break free from his grip as he ran his hands up and down her body, being careful to keep her confined. "Ooh hoo, boy, I can't believe you were just about to slip out of my fingers. We wouldn't want that now WOULD WE?" he said as he delivered a swift incredibly close ranged hit to her stomach. The girl would've buckled over from the hit, if he hadn't been supporting her.

She understood now why he was one of the most famous Marines in this base. 'Hard Hat' Humon was his official alias amongst the Marines, but she preferred just to call him ass. He smiled as he tongue slipped out of his mouth. "Nobody can blame me for punishing an escaped prisoner, now can they?" He slowly ran his tongue up her neck, she felt his breath come out of his mouth in a series of chuckles. She shivered with disgust and fear.

"And nobody would care if I did either. Nobody cares about you any more, you know that, right? That's what I'm offering you, you know? I'm offering you my unconditional love. Well, there is one condition. But I think you'll be quite pleased with it though once you try it. In all honesty we should've done this as soon as you got here cause after this you'll be so close to me you'll be begging to tell me all of your secrets." He looked up as he heard James' voice calling out for her again. "Let's go somewhere where we won't be disturbed." He disappeared into the shadows with the girl still bound in his grasp.

(-With James-)

"Crap, crap, crap," he muttered as he scratched the back of his head. As far as he knew she could've ditched him and went to the real place where the ships and gold were being held, which was why she had forced him to fight. Or maybe she was really a Marine and was expecting him to lose. Or...there was a dozens of other 'ors' in there. She could've been setting him up from the get-go, she definitely didn't seem like an angel to him. He didn't know what that idiot saw in her. He sighed as he put his hand into his pocket and he felt it brush up against a piece of paper. And he remembered that he did in fact pick one up from the room she was in. He took it out and looked it over again. Oh, yeah, that was right...James sighed. The person who drew this could never go back to those Marines.

James hurriedly stuffed the paper back into his pocket. That's right...he sighed, he just had to find out where she was and why she disappeared. He supposed there was only one reason why she would've disappeared on him if he was right about her drawing the picture on the paper. He took it out, getting one last look at it.

The small piece of paper was just large enough for a picture of the shining sun and sea. It wasn't child-like at all. Vivid details were recalled and splashed out onto the sheet. However, despite the decent artistic skills she must've possessed, certain details were wrong. The waves were a little too sharp, the shadows were thrown in the wrong direction, the trees didn't billow in the wind. It was like whoever had drawn this paper hadn't been outside in years.

**Breaking the Hard Hat**

TA-DA! Another chapter, another dollar! Not really, I don't get paid for this stuff. Oh, well! Anyways! We got like a foot and a half of snow over here! Not kidding. So as a result the college I was supposed to be attending Monday, Tuesday, and even today was cancelled. Why am I just now updating today?Fanfiction was doing something Monday so I couldn't manage stories and Tuesday...well, Tuesday I just plumb forgot about on account of snow. Anyways, it turns out my next two arcs are going to be huge! Much larger than anticipated, so...yeah, look forward to them. Got a couple of easter eggs hidden throughout a bunch of these chapters for those of you who knows what to look for (here's a hint: always pay attention to Wanted Posters).

Secondly, while I know my writing is perfect and there's no errors anywh-okay, you know what I can't even say that with a straight face. If you see any errors let me know and I'll try my best to go back in and fix them.

Thirdly, you guys can submit more than one OC (but only one OC will be accepted for James' crew). You guys can also submit things other than OCs. Islands, Devil Fruits, Dials, anything really. I'm exactly known for being picky.

Finally, as promised an SBS thing rather than James' Toolbox (cause there's no more Dials worth introducing yet):

The pirates from the first chapter are here and have their bounties along with their aliases. However, due to the government's new knowledge that they had a map to One Piece their bounties are not correct and what their bounties would've been if the Government had known are in (parenthesis)

('White Jacket' as a Marine) 'Blackcoat' Sundam-215 million belies (390 million)

'Red Edge' Marco- 191 million belies (295 million)

'Ship Wrecker' Johnson-190 million belies (290 million)

'Goggles' Freddy-122 million belies (230 million)

'Doctor' Hall-90 million belies (178 million)

Some unseen pirates on the crew

'Netted Legs' Natalie-55 million belies (130 million)

'Green Woods' Kershey-53 million belies (126 million)

'Green Jeans' Jane-49 million belies (119 million)

10 or so lackies whose names and bounties are un-important, but total amount to 50 million (96 million)


	11. Chapter 11 Breaking the Hard Hat

**Breaking the Hard Hat**

"There. Are you comfy?" asked the Marine as he finished tying the last knot to the girl's gag, so he could finally free his hands. Once more she was handcuffed by her feet straight to his bedpost. Lucky for him since he was one of the infamous two Marines of this base, 'Hard Hat' Humon he managed to talk them into letting him install his bed here. The girl was slammed into the bed once more as 'Hard Hat' approached her and grabbing onto her thick forest of shadowy hair. "Man, are you about to have the time of your life."

"If this is the time of my life I'd rather be dead," she spat out at him, quite literally too as the Marine soon found himself wiping the girl's saliva off of his face.

"I can arrange that too," he said as he lifted her head up and off of the bed before twisting around and slamming her head into the wall, causing her to recoil backwards with blood dripping from her forehead, "once you tell us the location of the Ancient Weapon you've been hiding." He waited for the girl to answer, but once more nothing came out of her mouth. "We already lost Pluton, Poseidon, and Uranus to the last era of Pirates, but there was apparently another one hidden amongst the tides that even Pirate King Luffy didn't know about! So tell me where is it?"

"Did you check behind your big fat head?" the girl muttered once more, but it was obvious from that last smash into the wall that she was thinking too clearly. That last insult was a little easy and she was shaky on her legs.

"ARGH!" shouted 'Hard Hat' Human as he spun around, easily snapping off one of the pillars for the room, "I'M A MARINE! OR DID YOU FORGET! I have power like no one you've ever met before! If you don't obey my commands and tell me the location of this Ancient Weapon now I will order the death of all of your family members!" He hefted her up and into the air and glared at her, smoke streaming out of his nose. "So, you have one more option before I start arming my men with guns and having them march out of here in search of your friends and family."

"You guys already killed them," she muttered, "when they refused to tell you the location of the Ancient Weapon."

"Impossible, the only other people to know about this Ancient Weapon was-" he was cut short as the wheels suddenly began turning in his head. How did she know about it in the first place? It was obvious that the only other person who knew about it was Them. The people they had sent to the execution platform months ago. "All this time I've been looking at your body, following the rules of the Marines, that the name of a prisoner doesn't matter. I've overlooked it, put it in the filing cabinets time and time again. Each time because I didn't give a damn about your name. Just the information in your head and that tight little body but...is your name-" he couldn't finish it off as the girl turned to look up at him once more.

"That's right, Makrov D. Olivia. The last of the Makrovs. And the last of the Ds."

"You bastard! You've been hiding beneath my nose all this time, haven't you?" he shouted lifting her into the air and tossing her towards the door. However, since her leg was still cuffed to the bed, she didn't go far. She flew about four feet before she was violently pulled back and onto the ground. "Years ago a message was sent down from the Marine Admirals themselves, all Ds must be executed. It was an incredibly harsh order, but we carried it through without mercy. And now you are here! Standing before me claiming to have this incredible name? We killed your kind."

"There are three things that are never-ending, a man's dream, the flow of time, and the inherited will," she sputtered, "those were the words of the legendary man, Gol D. Roger. And to this day his will is still being inherited and passed down throughout the flow of time and winding up as men's dreams." The Marine grimaced, forming a tightened frown and moving towards her and slamming his boot heel into her hand. "His will is not yet completed!"

"What will?" he bellowed, "the will of a washed up old man called Rogers? Or the man who brought the Great Pirate Era to an end the man called Monkey D. Luffy? Huh? Is that the will you've inherited? The old coot or the great fool?"

Olivia smiled as she sunk a little bit lower into the floor, "you still think this whole thing starts with Roger, huh?" The man's eyes widened as he dove down and picked her back up again.

"What? What did you just say? There was a man before Gol D. Roger?" he shook her violently forcing her to snap herself awake. "Tell me everything you know now! Every last bit of information about this Will of D. nonsense that continually sparks a new era! This blasted power that seems to live on no matter how hard the World Government tries! TELL ME!" The girl's body slumped a little bit further down, it was obvious that she was barely conscious, probably due to the man's constant rough-housing of her. "Fine!" he dropped her and let her body hit the floor with a thud. He moved over to his dresser which sat in a corner of his room.

"We may have started this hunt years ago, but I'm ending it today." He pulled a katana from the top drawer and moved towards the fallen woman. "Where's your bloody inherited will now? Huh, tell, me where is it now?" He moved towards her letting the light glean from the katana as he lifted it into the air. Olivia tried to lift her head up just enough to see it coming, but even that seemed to drain her of all of her energy. She could barely make out the man's burly arms, everything above that seemed like a blur.

She just couldn't help, but smile. The Will of D. will never be understood by Marines or men who scoff at dreams. Just as Olivia was smiling, so was Humon and he spoke as he smiled, "I'm sorry for acting like a barbarian perhaps if you had just spilled the beans and hid the truth about your name we could've had a friendly time in here, but I'm afraid its too late for that! Time for your execution." He brought the sword down with all of his strength.

However, he found it fizzing out way too early. All of its strength and momentum seemed to have disappeared about halfway down. "Man, do you guys yell really loudly or what?" asked a voice that came from a smiling mouth. 'Hard Hat' Humon took a step back and examined his blade, apparently a little bit worried that it had lost its cutting edge. He could think of no other logical reason that it would die out on him like that. "And that boys and girls is called an Impact Dial capable of absorbing or unleashing powerful blasts at a moment's notice." He took a step forward, sparing only a glance back at Olivia. "I didn't understand a thing you two were talking about, but I'll always side with somebody who speaks of dreams and accomplishing them." James threw up another Dial into the air and grabbed a hold of it. "Let's do this."

"It looks like I'll be adding another execution to the list today," muttered Humon as he took another step back even further this time. "Now which one of you two are going to die first," he lifted his sword around and held it straight up and down vertically.

"**Fog!" **James lifted the Dial up and shot out a stream of white fog which covered the room. He was glad he had decided to keep it from the earlier shot this day. The Marine blinked as he soon lost sight of his targets. "Now to get you to some place safe," he said as he bent down and tried to haul the girl up and onto his shoulders. "Can you run?" asked James, but the girl barely managed to shake her head no. "Crap, this fog won't last too much longer," he carried her over to the closet and quietly set her down. "I'm sorry, but I can't take you any place safer. I hope you're fine with betting on me." Olivia slowly nodded and managed to grin back at him. He smacked his two hands together and breathed out. "Way to pile on the pressure," he joked as he turned around and headed into the fog, "I'll be back when that man regrets everything he's done to you."

He gripped his Impact Dial. He would ordinarily try to save up the charge he had on it, but right now he was fine with it. One charge, one blast, one very good reason to use it. "Found you!" shouted Humon as he appeared through the thick fog behind James with his blade already drawn and aiming down at him.

"Yeah, I suck at hide-and-seek, don't I?" mocked James as he deftly swung to the outside of the Humon and avoided the slash. He still needed to use the Impact Dial sparingly. He swiftly changed the Dials around, moving on to the next one. "But, I'm better at tag! **Axe!" **James jammed the Dial into Humon's side and let the Dial do its thing. A large X-shaped mark appeared on his side. Humon gritted his teeth, but he stayed strong. This was obviously not a man cut from the same cloth as the rest of them. However, James wasn't stopping there. **"Jet!" **James jumped into the air, using his Jet Dial to propel him and put him right above Humon's head. He slammed his fist down and used Humon's head as a resting place. "**Flame!" **A cone of flames jetted free from James' hands enveloping the Marine within a blazing inferno.

"**Straight Mark!" **Humon's sword burst through the flames going straight upwards and slicing into James' large jacket and admittedly James' own chest. James landed on the ground a few feet away, examining his jacket and his new wound. He reached into his pocket and pulled out another Water Dial and letting it squeeze out a kind of water-based medicine onto his chest. He was lucky he always left one of those in bag.

"Wondering how I'm still alive?" asked Humon as he stepped out of the burnt circle mark James' Dial had left on the ground. "Quite simply," he used his free hand to bang on the top of his head, which caused the unmistakable sound of steel to echo through the room. "I was injured as a kid so I had a metal plate installed in my head. That's why I am nicknamed..." he lowered his waist and aimed his head forward as if he was going to headbutt James, "HARD HAT HUMON!" Suddenly he blasted forward, screeching through the air and smashing right past James and into the wall. James stood there in wide-eyed amazement as the man brought the wall down around him.

James gripped his Impact Dial instantly realizing that he would indeed have to go all out to beat this man. "**Flood!" **James flipped another Dial out of his pocket and instantly a wave of water exploded from it, soaking his opponent in a burst of liquid. James gritted his teeth, ordinarily he would aim for a Shock Dial, but his opponent had already proven himself to be incredibly resilient. Anything less then his best wouldn't effect him. James took a deep breath and readied himself. One shot was his best bet. But before that he needed an opening. Luckily he had the perfect too to provide himself one. James jetted forward, grabbing a new Dial and rushing inwards. Humon grunted and turned towards him, lifting his sword high into the air.

"**Justice From The Heavens! Raining Virtue!" **Humon shouted as he stepped forward, slamming his foot onto the ground and spinning all the way around in a circle before bringing his sword straight down. James dove to the side, using his Jet Dials once more for an extra boost to ensure he avoided the attack. It was close, but James had avoided it. He slammed on the brakes, nearly putting his feet through the floor. From there he burst forward arming his next Dial.

"An Impact Dial? When it comes to defense I'm fairly confident in the strength of my iron skull! It has survived cannon fire! In other words, boy when you use your Impact Dial and waste it I'll skewer you with my sword!" screamed Humon as he leaned forward, placing his skull between him and James.

"If I do indeed waste my Impact Dial then I'd accept my faith, but!" James shouted as he spun around and jammed his Dial against his skull and pressed the button. In terms of destructive power this Dial was way behind the Impact or even Shock Dial. A blast of heat shot down, scorching anything it touched. "**HEAT!" **The Heat Dial often turned down in favor of the more destructive Flame Dial, but with its ability to spew incredibly hot air it could still turn the tides, especially when...

"HOT!" shouted the Marine as he leapt back and immediately began fanning his body with his hands. The water James had sprayed all over his body was boiling now. And boiling water was definitely hot. The Marines' entire body was covered in the scalding water! With just that that Marine's body would just be left with burns, however, that wasn't James' goal! That was just the means to get an opening! James shot forward, jetting towards him, breaking through his slight guard. James had it now. James slammed his Impact Dial into his exposed ribs.

"**Impact!" **The Marine's mouth dropped, spit and blood flying from it as his eyes went wide. James backed up a few feet and stretched his arm. The Marine was sent flying back, smashing into his bed post and bringing the entire canopy of it down on top of him. James sighed and shook his head. "Brilliant try there, friend, but I couldn't hold back this time. Not after what you did."

**Stern Capital Punishment**

I'm...so confused. My chapter numbering system is now one off? How the hell did that happen? When did it happen? I understand that on my computer I used Chapter 7 twice and I didn't on the computer, but I corrected that already...I'm so lost.

Anyways, one enemy down! Remember that I mentioned that there were two big name Marines here. With Hard Hat dying it seemed like things became easier for James with only one more to watch out for but! James' Impact Dial is now empty! It can only hold one charge at a time and James generally always charges it on a ship using a cannon, so unless he finds a cannon between now and then he'll be one dial short!

Also! I decided the Japanese format for the name is better for Olivia's name (Last, first) due to her having the initial of D. However, most characters will probably be keeping in time with the English format like (James Foreman which is first, last) cause I am an English Speaker.

And, yes, Olivia is a D. Why? Because this is One Piece and where would we be without D.s (plus it makes for good story plot later on)?...god, the internet has ruined the letter D for me.


	12. Chapter 12 Stern Capital Punishment

**Stern Capital Punishment**

"You okay?" asked James as Olivia finally pushed herself off of him. She had been leaning on him all the way through and up until now, but she had apparently decided her dignity had taken a big enough blow. She separated from him and pushed on a little bit harder.

"Can you walk?" he asked and she decided to let her body do the talking, she took a couple of steps before turning around, opening her mouth probably to tell him to 'hurry it up' or maybe to brag that she could walk already, but she was too tired and even a small attempt like that made her feel like keeling over. She turned back around and kept walking forward.

They were making horrible time. The girl's legs were messed up from being tossed around, as a matter of fact she was walking with a limp. James sighed...the slight detour plus this meant that they probably couldn't make it to the ship with good time. Some of the Marines he had knocked out had probably been found or at least woken up and was spreading the word.

"The...gold," muttered Olivia causing James' head to jerk up, "it...is here." Her hand collapsed lightly on one of the door knobs, she slipped a little bit, apparently she was resting on the door, more then opening it. She pushed the door open using what little strength she had last. Indeed there a lot of gold in here, definitely enough for them to buy some food...and possibly a locksmith. However, then James paused. He was an idiot. He overlooked one small detail...how was he going to get his mountain of gold onto the ship? Stupid.

"Crap," muttered Olivia as she leaned, pushing James into the room and closing the door behind them. "He's here." James looked questioningly at her, but he soon heard the heavy footsteps echo throughout the hall. "'Stern Jaw' McGully. Unlike Humon...he takes his job...very seriously." Olivia was still trying to recover, but it was obvious that each word she spoke practically tore at her ribs. James nodded and moved forward. He wished his Tone Dials could be used to amplify noise, but sadly as it stood they only captured and repeated it. He pressed his ears against the door and tried to listen through the door.

"Tell her that we don't have time for a visit," replied Stern Jaw, he had a gruff voice like a real manly Marine should. James' interest once more had grown in what he was talking about. Who was 'her'? "We have a pirate loose and we cannot afford to have one out and running about when she shows up. Anything we can do to delay her would be greatly appreciated! If she gets here and finds out that we are incompetently handling one pirate, we'd be in trouble for sure! We've always had a horrible record when it came to pirates anyways. Since none of them ever came here, they must surely be thinking about closing us down already! That must be why she's coming here! To hand down capital punishment for our less then stellar results."

James paused. Didn't two of the Marines earlier mentioned that they continually fudged the report to Marine Headquarters in order to bolster their numbers? He withdrew slightly it looked like there was definitely something fishy about how this Marine Base operated if the captain didn't even know of their own dirty deeds. He wondered if there was anything else the Marine didn't know about...like maybe what they were doing to Olivia. Maybe he was an okay guy after all.

"He's the worst of them all," muttered Olivia causing James to jump a little bit. "At least to me he was. He takes his job extremely seriously, which I guess makes him a good Marine, but a horrible man when you are a prisoner. He takes care of..." Olivia wobbled a bit on her feet causing James to remember that she was still very uneasy from her beating. Finally she seemed to recover enough to have a second wind, "he takes extremely good care of the people of this town...the ones that don't break the rules. However, if you do break the rules...or if you're a prisoner. He's horrible. He administered nearly daily whippings...he's...he's a horror." James twisted his lips into a frown as he put his ear back against the door.

"Make up any old stupid lie you can think of," muttered Stern Jaw as he turned around swiftly, causing the Marine to jump and utter out some kind of gibberish, but Stern Jaw didn't really pay any attention to him, just delivered a quick threat, "if you fail to do even something so simple I will personally administer to you...THE DEATH PENALTY!"

James flinched a little bit sorry for the guy until he heard Stern Jaw continue, "oops, sorry, I meant make you go without desert for a week!" James believed that there was some middle ground which would've been more effective...but he wasn't one to complain. "I'm going to go look for the pirates one last time. Now if I was a pirate where would I be?" Stern Jaw tapped his chin as he contemplated the question.

"Gold," whispered Olivia into James' ear as if he couldn't put that together by himself. He, of course, knew that was true after all look where they were. He just had to hope his opponent was an idiot (it had worked out for James well enough so far.) James prepared to make a break for it, the instant he opened the door to this room he and Olivia would just have to bolt. He wondered if she was feeling any better from their last run-in with the Marines.

"I know! MEAT!" shouted Stern Jaw. And although James couldn't see him there was no doubt in his mind that he wore a proud face. He was probably bursting with pride for his great feat of figuring out such a difficult riddle. James sighed out with relief, they were safe for a little while longer.

Stern Jaw suddenly shouted. "Now to go to the kitchen!" Suddenly the door flew open and Stern Jaw stood in the doorway for a few seconds as he looked in at them, "wait, this isn't the kitchen!" James and Olivia looked at each other...James guessed once more he was right...his opponent was an idiot. "Sorry, about that." He closed the door again and left. James and Olivia once more looked towards each other, wondering if what happened was really worth the trouble.

"WAIT A MINUTE!" shouted Stern Jaw as he burst into the room, "who the hell are you two? I've never seen either one of your before in my life."

"Uh...we're...gold inspectors?" stated James as he looked over at his opponent hoping he bought that, but it was obvious that Stern Jaw wasn't a complete idiot as he closed his eyes halfway and glared at him through them. "Uh...ship inspectors so if you could just take us to your shipyard, we'd be happy to get on with the examination." Nope, he still wasn't buying it. "Chefs?" Okay, the last one was just him fishing, but now that he thought about it...he could go for a bite.

"Never seen me before in your life?" trembled Olivia as her arms dropped to her side, her fists quietly shaking with growing rage. "How about just last week when you whipped me? Or the week before that when you poured melting wax down my back? Or the month before that when you broke my leg?" Olivia pulled on her pant leg, lifting it up where her ankles were showing in a semi-scandalous manner...or at least it would be without the black and blue swelling around the ankle.

"It still hasn't healed, you ass!" Olivia screamed. James paused for a few seconds...come to think of it. He did recall her kind of limping when she was thrown into the room with him. They didn't ever run, not even once when they broke out. He had just assumed they were being quiet. But...as he looked on it, he realized it probably throbbed and ached with every step she took, but she had remained quiet throughout her whole ordeal. She really wanted out of here.

"Like I have any reason to remember your face, criminal," shouted Stern Jaw, "all criminals deserve to be punished as harshly as allowed by the law! And since this island is under my control, my word is law! And my word is all criminals deserve to be punished as harshly as possible!"

"I'm going to hold you to that," muttered James as he flipped another Dial up into the air and caught it, "cause as far as I can see, you are the real criminal around here!" Stern Jaw grinned slightly as he looked at James, apparently slightly pleased at the opportunity to pound someone into the ground. "So, here comes your punishment! **Jet!" **James dashed forward, catapulting himself at Stern Jaw.

"**Stern Iron Wall!" **Stern Jaw McGully took the hit squarely in his chest, but he didn't budge. "The great gates of punishment do not budge for any criminal! So as far as I can see you are the real criminal!" He brought his two elbows down, smashing into James' back and causing him to collapse, however, he wasn't allowed to fall far. McGully was raising his knee, bringing it around and bringing it right into James' chest and sending him backwards and into the air. "So prepare for your punishment!" He heard some click on the ground, causing him to look down at the small shell placed there meticulously.

"**Flame." **Fire screeched free from its confides in the small shell, roaring upwards and tearing through the air, engulfing McGully in the horrible red heat for an instant before he burst out of it screaming with rage. However, that pause was all James needed to land safely. "Second round!" shouted James as he jumped into the air, using his Jet Dials once more to propel him. He slid another Dial into place on his hand.

"**Flash!" **A brilliant white light shrouded the field in its magic, causing McGully to stumble back for a brief moment. James landed safely and threw two Dials forward. One on each side of McGully's head.

"**Screech!" **The twin Dials were Tone Dials filled with a horrible noise which caused McGully to grab his ears to block out the noise. "And to wrap it all up! **Impact!" **shouted James rushing through the newly created opening and jamming a Dial into McGully's chest and clicking the button.

However, asides from the sad wistful whooshing of air being evacuated from it, nothing happened. McGully grinned as James was now within punching distance. A powerful punch soared through the air, tearing into James chest and blowing him back. "One Dial after another, huh? You must be a Skypiean."

James nodded, pointing to the two wings on his back. Stern Jaw supposed he should've noticed those things sooner, but the criminal's body was of no consequence of his. He was only supposed to break the prisoner's body, not notice it. "Fine!" 'Stern Jaw' growled as he reached to the side, pulling free from the massive pile a chest filled with gold. "TAKE THIS!"

James ducked beneath it and checked his Impact Dial, he remembered that he had used the last charge on that annoying as hell Hard Hat Humon, but still...he would think he still had a chance with something! He had sadly already used his Flame Dial and it was now sitting beneath McGully's awe-inspiring girth.

So without his Impact Dial and Flame Dial, his next best bet would be the Shock Dial. He cursed the fact that there seemed to be too few offensive Dials (especially ones that worked down here, his Eisen and Milky Dials were now useless). He supposed he would just have to absorb one of McGully's attacks and deal it back to him. Man, how he was cursing his luck right now. Finding an opening for his Shock Dial and recharging his Impact Dial, those were his only two options. Well, time to find out if he had what it took to be a pirate, no?

**I Am A Pirate!**

Hmm...blasted school is really getting into my way. Really, really, really annoying. I haven't managed to work on any of my stories yet! (I got three days off cause of the snow and now all teachers are pushing those three days of work onto me at once!) ...it doesn't help that I got a few new games too.

AHEM! Personal problems over! As for the story the fight between James and Stern Jaw is almost over. Both sides are having a difficult time, but it seems like Stern Jaw is coming out with a slight advantage (James' weapons are now almost all gone).

Also! I got asked this question a couple of times and I'll probably go back and patch this into the 1st chapter (one of these days), but the question is: "Does this story take place in the same universe/timeline as Saga and Iron Hammer?"

In a word, no. This story while still technically in the One Piece universe does not take place in the same one as the other two (which do in fact share the same). The universes are different so anything you learned in Saga and Iron Hammer can be thrown out the window. But! And this is due to my personality you may be able to pick-up a few shout-outs to them, but those are gags only!


	13. Chapter 13 I'm a Pirate

**I Am A Pirate!**

James nodded, taking to the skies with his Jet Dials, baiting his opponent into an attack. Of course, just in case...he readied another Dial for another small almost useless attack. **"Flood!" **shouted James letting out a steady stream of water. Stern Jaw laughed, tearing his shirt off and whipping it around as a makeshift shield to absorb the water. Damn, so much for the Water and Shock Dial combinations. James landed comfortably on the ground. "Not falling for it, huh?"

"I am a Marine Captain," muttered McGully as he lowered himself onto his fist and prepared for a charge, "Throughout the thousands of Marine applications I have steadily advanced through the ranks. Throughout the thousands of criminals that have walked through the doors of this base, I have personally handled them all! I am not someone who would fall for a stupid trick! Trying to give me a cold in the middle of a fight by getting me wet, HAH! So childish." James took a step back, the guy was an idiot...a strong idiot, but still an idiot.

"ANYWAYS!" shouted Stern Jaw, apparently recognizing that he had said something stupid, "prepare yourself pirate, here it comes my **Ironclad Super Stern Muscular Rush!"**

"THAT NAME IS SUPER CHILDISH!" shouted James amazed at the incredibly long and stupid name his opponent had given his attack. However, he wasn't laughing long as McGully was on top of him in a matter of seconds. Punches began to fly from his side, continuously hammering the air around James. James deftly dodged them, leaning left and right, he was barely making it with enough time though and most of them did streak by his cheek, leaving him with an uncomfortable burning sensation on them. Still this was an excellent opportunity for him to charge his Impact Dial. His hand flicked up with the Impact Dial in its palm, ready to take the hit, however, McGully feinted to that side and threw the real punch right into James' gut, causing him to buckle over once more. James definitely wasn't the most formidable foe McGully had faced. His punch's strength was probably only half due to the rush's speed, but the man was acting like he had gotten hit by a cannon ball.

James flipped around, kicking his foot into the air, accelerating it forward with his Jet Dial, aiming a painful kick right at the Marine's jaw. The contact was swift and brief, but it was obvious that it hurt James' foot more then the Marine's jaw...his name was indeed well-deserved.

"Nice try, kid!" shouted the Marine, pulling his arm back and firing another punch right for James' head. James flinched and brought his two arms up to protect him, but they did nothing as Stern Jaw's strength blasted through them, throwing the young pirate back a few feet and onto the ground.

"SHIT!" James cursed as he tried to move his arm, but they felt numb already from the continuous punching and guarding. He didn't even know if they could survive the backlash from his Impact Dial now. Still...he looked over at Olivia, who was backing away slowly. He would still have to at least try. He armed himself with his trusty Dial once more. He would create an opening. One shot, he could see the faintest of light behind that phrase, one shot. He could do it. He zigged forward, putting the speed behind his body once more with the Jet Dial.

Forget the Impact Dial for now, his opponent was still at way too much power to be KOed by that one attack. He'd need to hit him with a few weaker blows. He had the perfect tools for that. James twisted around, launching a downwards kick for the Marine's shoulder, but was inevitably blocked by the insane bulky arm of the Marine. James pulled himself forward, shooting towards the Marine's face with an open palm and a new Dial.

"**AXE!"** shouted James, slamming the Dial into the Marine's nose and watching with particular glee as it released a burst of an X-like air blade at him. Stern Jaw grunted as blood now freely flowed from his face. James landed safely on the ground behind him.

James sighed, moving for his next tool. He needed to keep the momentum going. For that and that alone he would use all of his Dials to the best of their ability. "**Flash!" **Another burst of light cut through the air, causing the Marine to reel back in pain. His poor retinas burned from the bright light. Based on James' many experiments the average man reeled from the Flash Dial for about two seconds, James burst forward with the Jet Dials intending to take advantage of those two seconds.

Stern Jaw gritted his teeth, his two seconds up, he turned to face James as he careened towards him. James readied another Dial. **"WATER!" **A burst of water exploded from the Dial, hammering into Stern Jaw's leg, causing him to lose his balance for another precious second or two, allowing James to get right up against him, slamming his shoulder into him. If it was like before then surely Stern Jaw wouldn't have budged, but with the slippery floor beneath his feet from James' Water Dial, he had no good footing and poor resistance.

James twisted around, slamming his Axe Dial into the Marine's chest. Stern Jaw would wish he had kept his shirt on. "**AXE!" **Another burst of an X air blade into the Marine's chest, caused him to falter back, but not before firing a random punch into the air, hoping to have accidentally catch James.

The young pirate stepped back, taking these few seconds as the Marine gathered his bearing to gather his own. His Jet Dials were running out of juice. He couldn't rely on them to get him around any more. He also doubted he had much water left in his Dial either. He had been rather haphazard with it as of late. So that left him with what? A Shock Dial, an Axe Dial, a Flash Dial, and a Heat Dial. He looked around him for something else to help him in this fight. He was starting to worry about getting out of here alive...or at least he would've been if it wasn't for catching Olivia in the corner of his eye...right. He couldn't give up like this.

"OLIVIA!" he shouted loudly, causing her to jump slightly. "You ready to set sail with the man whose going to find the One Piece?"

"The One Piece?" asked Olivia, unsure of what to make of that. "No one's found the One Piece in years, it probably doesn't even exist."

"I got a map," bragged James loudly, holding up the little box. "My secret is this, okay! In my hands I'm holding a secret map to the legendary treasure that has long been lost! The great burden in the Marine's side, okay?"

"He's lying!" shouted the Marine as he stood back up and took up a defensive stance, he had been underestimating James and for good reason, his attacks were all rather weak, but he had been the only one to land a good hit in the last few seconds. He supposed he should take his time and slowly tear his opponent, "the One Piece doesn't exist, we Marines have scoured the seas just like you will! We've found nothing!"

"Doesn't exist? You Marines? The seas?" James shouted as tucked the box back into his large jacket, "you're really a fool in that case. You can't even see the truth, you haven't found it yet, because you don't believe! But me and Olivia we believe in it! We have the map, the grit, and the dreams! We have the power to challenge the World Government with just those three!"

"Don't trust him, you fool!" shouted Stern Jaw as he lowered his weight and prepared for a rush, "you just met him, he lead you all the way here, and now he's expecting you to throw your life into his hands! You can have a much better chance if you side with us Marines, you have vital information for us, if you just told us where you hid it then we could be friends, hell, you could even join up with us and become a integral part of our ranks."

"Join with you, how silly," James mocked once more, "she's already got a nakama in me!" Olivia turned to face him. A nakama...such an archaic term in this day and age. Nobody lived by the code of friendship or anything like that any more. Pirates were bloodthirsty cretins and Marines were even worse. But if that was the case...if that really was her belief, then why...why was she crying? "Do you trust me Olivia?"

"I DO!"

"Good," shouted James as he felt his hat fall down his face. Right, he smiled as he pulled his straw hat off of his head. He remembered now. He had found this up in Skypiea, the latest gift of the Knock-Up Stream. It was a little worse for the wear, but that just a signal of all the great adventure its been on. He tossed it over to Olivia, "keep an eye on that hat for me, will ya? I'm about to kick this guy's ass!"

"RIDICULOUS!" shouted Stern Jaw as he charged forward, firing a powerful punch right at James' head. The punch flew through the air and right at his head, but something was definitely wrong. There was no reverb...and his opponent was smiling.

"Do ya always act like an idiot when somebody insults ya?" asked James as he pulled his hand away, revealing an Impact Dial. CRAP! It was charged with his own punch now! James slammed his fist into McGully, making sure he wouldn't get away from it now. He didn't know how many more openings he would get especially if his opponent went on the defense. It was now or never! **"IMPACT!"**

"**STERN IRON WALL!"**

James fired a quick shot right into the Marine captain's gut, smiling as he felt the reverb shoot through his own arm, however that smile was short-lived at the Marine didn't budge. His internal organs may be a mess now from the shot, but he didn't seem to mind. He gritted his teeth and withstood the blow. However, James wasn't out of options just yet!

"**JET!" **James twisted around, flying past the Marine, but there was a shine as he did so. The Marine felt something flutter around his head for the briefest of moments, he paused for a second...tempted to look back, but instead he found himself looking forward at his neck.

"You said criminals deserve to be punished as harshly as the law permits, right?" stated James, "then say hello to your punishment, **Hangman!" **The Marine felt it tightened around his neck...a golden necklace from the ground! James must've felt overly confident because he had spied this. No! The Marine must tell himself that it was just something simple like that! He was floundering! He had taken his strongest attack and had come back from the brink! He was winning this fight.

"You're the criminal, your crimes include-" shouted the Marine, but his voice was cut off as James tightened the golden noose around his neck.

"Your crimes include the mocking of dreams," James said as he looped one arm through it and held up a Dial, "the assaulting of my nakama," James looped his arm through it and held up a different Dial, "and a plain disregard for human life!" The Marine gritted his teeth harder, whatever the attack was, however strong it was, he'd survive it! He was the Stern Jaw for a reason!

"Try your best pirate!" he shouted, egging James on as he gritted his teeth so hard, blood began to flow from his gums, "I'm a Marine! I'm an iron wall! I'm as strong as they come!"

"Blah, blah, blah!" shouted James as he turned his two Dials on, one created a brief spark, indicating that it was the Shock Dial, the other exhumed a hot gust of air indicating it was a simple Heat Dial. The element gold was actually a natural conductor. Unlike most other materials it was viable conductor of both heat and electricity. "In your words I'm handing down the DEATH PENALTY!" shouted James as he dropped his hands onto the golden chain, instantly frying the man's neck as well as his own arms from where they were in contact with it. It was a brilliant light show.

James let go after a second or two, his own arms aching from the pain, but luckily for him, the Marine's willpower and 'iron wall' caved first as he collapsed into the ground with a loud clattering of golden coins all around him. James sighed as he rolled his eyes up to the sky and struck a victory pose, proud of his first real victory as a pirate. He looked over at Olivia, who simply smiled back and replied with a calm tone, "he really did deserve worst."

James smirked back at her, "eh, what can I say I'm a merciful bastard."

**Onwards!**

**Sailing Towards Treasure, Friendship, and a New Era!**

Have you ever had one of those weekends where you had absolutely nothing you had to do? Where all of your time is complete and total free time? Hopefully you had. And then have you ever had one of those Mondays when you realize you actually did have work to do...you just completely forgot about it? Where you spend that entire day in a mad rush to get 90% of your work done? I just did...

Oh, sorry about not posting Monday, I was in a bit of haze (cause of the above) as well as I thought Monday was Sunday all day long until...until Tuesday actually.


End file.
